ACORD Named Newest Corporate Affiliate of The Hoeft Technology & Management Program at the University of Illinois

PEARL RIVER, NY--(Marketwired - September 15, 2016) - ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, today announced that it has joined The Hoeft Technology & Management (T&M) Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as its newest corporate affiliate. Other corporate affiliates include Abbott, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Boeing, BP, Capital One, John Deere, and Motorola Solutions. Ujjval Patel, ACORD's Vice President of Strategy, will join the program's advisory board.

"As the director of the T&M Program, I am excited to have ACORD join our distinguished group of corporate affiliates, and for Ujjval Patel's appointment to serve on our advisory board," said John Quarton, director of the Technology and Management Program. "Ujjval is the first graduate of our program to take on this significant role. I've known him since his early college days and am certain that he will be an exceptional role model to current students."

The Hoeft Technology and Management Program is designed to bridge the gap between traditional engineering and business education by offering a unique curriculum to a select group of highly qualified undergraduates drawn from the University's Colleges of Engineering and Business. Working closely with its corporate partners, the program grooms the best and the brightest to be tomorrow's leaders in technology and business.

As a corporate affiliate, ACORD will sponsor capstone educational projects, as well as provide strategic guidance and financial support. The program offers ACORD the opportunity to establish relationships with students and potential future employees, play an integral role in course design, and participate in roundtable discussions with faculty. The affiliation will last for a period of three years.

"We are pleased to join the Technology and Management Program, as it allows us to closely connect with the talent that will ultimately shape the future of our industry," said Bill Pieroni, CEO of ACORD and graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business. "As both an alumnus of the University and a representative of ACORD, I am confident that our participation will serve as a mutually beneficial engagement for both parties. I look forward to our productive and ongoing relationship."

About ACORD
ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development), a non-profit organization founded in 1970, provides the global insurance industry with data standards and solutions that facilitate accurate, effective, and efficient data exchange. As a member-driven Standards Development Organization (SDO), ACORD brings together a diverse mix of industry stakeholders having a vested interest in improving effectiveness and efficiency. Today, ACORD provides the global insurance industry with more than 1,200 standardized transaction types, and engages more than 4,000 participating organizations across 20 countries. ACORD members worldwide include hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organizations, and industry associations. (www.acord.org).