Web Search Pacific Presenters

Mary Ellen Bates

Mary Ellen Bates is the owner of Bates Information Services in Boulder, Colorado, providing business research to business professionals, and consulting services to the information industry. Mary Ellen worked in specialised libraries for over 10 years before starting her own business in 1991. She has been an online searcher since the late 1970s.

Bates is a frequent writer and popular international speaker on the information industry. She has keynoted at conferences around the world. She is the author of six books, including Building and Running a Successful Research Business, Super Searchers Cover the World, Mining for Gold on the Internet, Researching Online For Dummies, Super Searchers Do Business, and The Online Deskbook. More information can be found at www.BatesInfo.com.

Chris Sherman

Chris Sherman is President of Colorado-based Web consulting firm Searchwise LLc., and Executive Editor of SearchEngineLand.com. He also organizes and runs the Search Marketing Expo series of conferences on five continents.

Chris is a frequent presenter at information industry conferences and workshops, and is a Web Search University faculty member. He is the author of Google Power: Unleash The Full Potential of Google from McGraw-Hill and coauthor (with Gary Price) of The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See from CyberAge Books. Chris’ clients have included International Data Corporation, Accenture, Motorola, LeviStrauss, Ortho Biotech, Porsche, Caltex, United Technologies, and the Scripps Clinic. From 1998 to 2001, he was the Web Search Guide for About.com.

Elizabeth Swan

Elizabeth Swan is Director of Information Edge Pty Ltd, Sydney. After a career mainly in special libraries including 17 years managing ACI's internal information service, Elizabeth founded Information Edge as a joint venture with the State Library of New South Wales in 1989. It has been an independent private company since July 1996 when Elizabeth acquired the State Library’s shares.

Leading companies, law firms, associations, government departments and agencies are among Information Edge's regular clients. Since 1996, Elizabeth has conducted training sessions in Australia and New Zealand on online searching strategies and tactics and the provision of value added information services.

Elizabeth was a co founder of the Information Online conferences and trade exhibitions in Australia and was involved in their management from the mid 1980's to 2003. More information can be found at: www.infoedge.com.au.

Robert Grundy

Robert Grundy ran the Ferntree Information unit of Ferntree Computer Corporation, home of AUSINET, Australia’s pioneering online information service where he launched the first online version of the Sydney Morning Herald. Prior to that he enjoyed a career as a book publisher for twenty years. He subsequently managed the Australian operations of the Lexis Nexis online service and then held various management positions at the Copyright Agency Limited. He joined the Web Search Pacific team in 2007.