Austin, TX, February 12, 2007 – Hoover's, Inc. today announced the latest edition of “http://www.hoovers.com/global/hoov/index.xhtml?pageid=15370&cm_ven=HOT&cm_cat=Free&cm_pla=Landing_Page&cm_ite=Landing_Page [The Hoover’s 100],” a monthly list of the companies most searched on the company’s Web site. Hoover’s is the leading provider of proprietary business insight to U.S. businesses.

Derived by tracking the search requests of Hoover’s subscribers, The Hoover’s 100 provides insight on which companies are being watched most closely by corporate executives, as well as sales, marketing, and business development professionals, who represent a large portion of Hoover’s customers seeking http://www.hoovers.com/global/hoov/index.xhtml?pageid=15370&cm_ven=HOT&cm_cat=Free&cm_pla=Landing_Page&cm_ite=Landing_Page [business intelligence].
“The biggest movers in this latest edition of The Hoover’s 100 represent three newcomers to the list who are leaders in the food, biotech and communications equipment industries,” said Tim Walker, Hoover’s industry analyst. “The news behind the biggest movers ranged from executive moves and new company strategies, to acquisitions and restructuring.”
http://www.hoovers.com/avaya/--ID__101196--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml [Avaya Inc.] (From #131 to #84)
Under Louis D’Ambrosio, who became Avaya’s CEO in mid-2006, the maker of enterprise phone systems has been working to execute on a new strategy, especially by trimming its operating expenses. Although the quarterly earnings it reported in January failed to excite Wall Street, the company did make a small flurry of executive moves, naming a new CFO, a new CIO, and a new SVP in charge of its communications products. Also in January, Avaya announced that it would acquire Ubiquity, a U.K.-based company that makes software used to run the big servers of network service providers.

http://www.hoovers.com/sara-lee/--ID__11323--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml [Sara Lee Corporation] (From #115 to #94)
For a company that makes so much food, Sara Lee certainly has slimmed down lately. During the past two years, the big food and apparel maker has radically reorganized its business, in part by selling off some of its famous brands, including Hanes underwear, as well as its European meats business. Leading the charge in all of this has been CEO Brenda Barnes, who has served in that role since 2005. In January, the company revealed further steps to remake itself when it announced that it would close two U.S. plants (with an attendant layoff of 1,700 workers) and open a huge new R&D facility at its Illinois headquarters.



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