March 26, 2002

To whom it may concern:

I write this letter to strongly recommend Bruce McLaren to your organization with regard to information technology leadership positions. Bruce brings customer-facing capabilities and business savvy together with strong technical competencies.

Bruce and I worked together at Carnegie Group, Inc. from 1986 to 1991. During that period, I was Director of Diagnostic Products and Services; and Bruce was a senior engineer and consultant, first in the London-based office of the company and later within my group as a direct report.

Bruce always displayed strong technical leadership and innovative skills during the time we worked together. For instance, while leading a project for the electric company of England, Bruce extended Carnegie Group’s diagnostic expert system shell, TestBench, by developing an AI search strategy that more closely addressed the customer’s problem domain. Bruce and I later wrote a paper about this inventive approach; and Bruce presented the work at the Fourth International Conference on Expert Systems in Production and Operations Management, May 1990. Besides Bruce’s innovative work related to our product, he was responsible for leading and delivering several projects in the U.K. and the U.S. during our association. He was a strong asset to the company, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.

When Bruce chose to pursue a Ph.D. I supported him in that endeavor and without reservation wrote a letter of recommendation for him. I am pleased, but not surprised, that he persevered and completed his dissertation.

Although I have not worked with Bruce in recent years, I have maintained professional contact with him and believe that he has continued to grow and progress in his career. I heartily endorse Bruce for a position of leadership within your organization.

Gary Kahn, Ph.D.
34 Revere Street
Lexington, Ma. 02420
(617) 908 - 5300