STATE STREET RESEARCH INVESTMENT ANALYST INDUCTED INTO SHINGO PRIZE ACADEMY
BOSTON, MA, June 27, 2001 - State Street Research & Management Company isproud to announce that Cliff Ransom, Vice President and Equity ResearchAnalyst, was one of three inductees to the Shingo Prize Academy in an awardsceremony held June 4-8.Utah State University's College of Business developed the award andannually recognizes individuals with the Shingo Prize for Excellence inManufacturing. Business Week referred to the award as "The Nobel Prize ofmanufacturing." The prize honors Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese industrialengineer who has been called one of the world's leading experts on improvingthe manufacturing process. An author of several books, including A Study ofthe Toyota Production; Revolution in Manufacturing, Shingo has establishedhimself as an "engineering genius." Utah State University created theShingo Prize in 1988 to promote greater awareness of lean manufacturingconcepts and to highlight companies that attain world-class manufacturingstatus. Lean manufacturing is defined as an approach to doing business thatyields the highest productivity levels.
Mr. Ransom is an equity investment research analyst for State StreetResearch, conducting fundamental research on companies and industries inorder to generate proprietary investment ideas for the firm's mutual fundsand institutional clients. He covers many industries including aerospaceand defense, diversified manufacturing, hand and power tools, engineeringand construction, machinery and machine tools, and railroad equipment. Hehas over 29 years of investment experience and holds a BA from PrincetonUniversity, an MA from The Johns Hopkins University School of AdvancedInternational Studies, and an MBA from Loyola College. Ransom has conductedkaizen (improvement sessions) with Shingijutsu, the premier Japanese leanconsulting company, and with TBM, a U.S.-based lean consulting firm.
"We are extremely pleased that Cliff has been recognized for his expertisein this field," said Jim Weiss, Executive Vice President, Chief InvestmentOfficer-Equities for State Street Research. "Cliff's dedication and hardwork in the world class manufacturing area have resulted in solid decisionsand advice and we are happy that he has received the credit he so richlydeserves."
Rob E. Robson, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Shingo Prize, said Mr.Ransom was selected because he is an elite member of the lean manufacturingworld. "Cliff was chosen because he has been a student of leanmanufacturing for many years. He is one of the few people in the WallStreet community who truly understands the lean manufacturing system." State Street Research & Management Company, with a money management historydating back to 1924, is one of the nation's first investment managementorganizations. The Boston-based firm is a subsidiary of MetLife, one of theworld's largest financial services companies. As of May 31, 2001, StateStreet Research managed $49 billion in assets, of which over $31 billionrepresented institutional clients and $18 billion represented mutual fundand variable annuity portfolios. The firm manages money for 10 of the 15largest U.S. corporate pension plans (as reported in the 2001 MoneyManagement Directory), union programs, public employee pension plans, mutualfunds for over 576,000 shareholder accounts, as well as individually managedaccounts for affluent investors. The firm's Web site address iswww.ssrfunds.com.
