Adobe Systems, Inc.

May 21, 1997

As the Vice President and General Manager of North America for Adobe Systems, Inc., I have worked closely with Cheryl Steeper over the past six years. It is my opinion that Cheryl is the key reason behind Adobe’s great success in the trade show area.

When Cheryl joined Adobe Systems, we were the typical small, fast-growing software company that attended too many trade shows with too little reason. There was little thought behind the booth design; no effective way to measure any one show’s success and no comprehensive methodology to evaluate where Adobe should be making its impact. Despite encountering some internal cultural obstacles, Cheryl began to appropriately build a well-thought out, focused trade show strategy.

Cheryl created and implemented the first sales leads program where the hottest leads were sent to the sales team within 24 hours. She directed the creation of two award-winning exhibits. The first was so well thought out in its scalability and flexibility that it seved Adobe for six years, even though Adobe tripled in size during that time. Cheryl was also the driving force behind Adobe’s very effective use of theater space versus workstations.

All of these achievements derived from Cheryl’s thorough understanding of the industry, hard work, and willingness to take appropriate risks. In every way, she has been a great asset to Adobe Systems.

Sincerely,
John H. Brandon
Vice President and General Manager
North America Sales and Support
Adobe Systems Incorporated