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Northern Illinois University

NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Cassandra Maxwell-Simmons
(815) 753-9961

November 2, 2004

Retired president and CEO of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.,
to speak Nov. 11 at NIU on globalization

DEKALB, Ill.— G. Thomas Castino, retired president and CEO of Underwriters Laboratory, Inc., will present a talk titled, “Globalization: The Future State of Business & Technology,” 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, in the Barsema Hall Auditorium, in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University.

Castino’s presentation is co-sponsored by the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology and the NIU College of Business. The lecture is part of CEET’s Executive Speaker Series.

Castino spent his entire professional career with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an independent, not-for-profit company that is the world’s foremost product safety testing and certification organization. Elected president and CEO of UL in 1990, he spent 12 years leading UL through a period of tremendous growth that promoted the UL safety mission on a global scale and more than doubled the number of UL marks placed on products from 8 to 18 billion. Today, UL tests more than 20,000 types of products each year at its five facilities in the United States and 27 international subsidiaries.

The growth in UL’s standards and technological activities paralleled its global and economic growth and increased the use of Standards/Technology as tools for making decisions and facilitating trade in business and commerce. During Castino’s term as CEO, UL grew from a $190 million domestic company to $500 million global corporation.

Castino set UL on a global course, which led to the formation of more than two dozen subsidiaries around the world. He was a major force behind the creation of a UL state-of-the-art facility in Washington state that specializes in the testing and certification of technology equipment, audio/visual equipment, medical and dental equipment, and wire and cable. In recognition of his contributions to public safety and to the organization, UL has announced that the facility will be named for Castino.

In 2001, Castino was named vice chairman of UL and held this position until he retired from the UL Board of Trustees in 2002. He served as consultant to the President of UL until his retirement in 2003.He has served on the board of directors of dozens of industrial, academic, and governmental associations. His contributions have been recognized with a number of professional awards, including the prestigious American National Standards Medal, the Hollis Award from the National Industry Defense Association, the Standard Engineering Society Medal and the Career Achievement Award from the University Of Illinois College Of Engineering. He has been active in a variety of professional organizations including: ASTM, NFPA and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, where he’s a Fellow. Currently, Castino is consulting, lecturing and serving on volunteer boards.

The November 11 program is free and open to the public.

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