RFID Journal announced that it has appointed Kim Ray, a veteran with 19 years of event management experience, as Vice President of Events.

Ray will manage RFID Journal's rapidly expanding events business and will help develop new conferences aimed at helping end users take advantage of the potential of RFID and related technologies.

"I'm extremely pleased to have Kim on board," said Mark Roberti, founder and editor of RFID Journal. "Our goal is to provide the RFID community with the highest quality events, and Kim has the experience, creativity and dedication to help us do that."

Ray comes to RFID Journal from Centric Events Group, an independent events management company based in Needham, Mass, where she was VP Product Management. Prior to Centric Events Group, Kim was part of the development team advising CNET Networks on the development of its US events business.

She was also general manager for Key3/ZD Studios' vertical industry programs, where she had direct responsibility for the identification, development and management of all industry-specific events for the company. Immediately prior to joining ZD Studios, Kim was a senior executive for NMHCC, a leading producer of events for the managed care, healthcare IT and pharmaceutical industries.

"I'm extremely pleased to join RFID Journal, which has already established a reputation for producing high-quality events that are informative and well-organized," Ray said. "As we create new products, our focus will remain on serving the needs of end users looking to understand how and where they can benefit from using RFID technologies."

RFID Journal will hold RFID Journal Live! 2005, its third annual executive conference, in Chicago from April 10 to 12. The conference features a keynote address by Tom Ridge, former secretary for the department of homeland security, and presentations by 50 end users and more than 100 other experts who will address the issues of greatest concerns to companies looking to understand how they can benefit from RFID technologies.

RFID Journal also recently announced its first European executive conference. RFID Journal Live! Europe will be held at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Oct. 11 and 12. The event will feature presentations by Marks & Spencer, Metro, Tesco and other early adopters in Europe. Other new conferences will be announced shortly.