FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS, November 2, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Katherine M. Hudson, President & Chief Executive Officer (Retired) for Brady Corporation, has been named a Worldwide Who's Who Professional of the Year in manufacturing. While inclusion in Worldwide Who's Who is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, years of service, and the credentials they have provided in association with their Worldwide Who's Who membership.

Upon receiving a Bachelor of Science in management from Indiana University in 1968, Ms. Hudson became a Lehman Fellow studying economics at Cornell University. Student protests over the Vietnam War disrupted her graduate work in 1969. On leave from her fellowship, she found work with Eastman Kodak Company. In the course of her twenty-five years at Kodak, she held positions in distribution, finance, corporate communications, shareholder relations, information technology and general management. In 1988, she was elected Kodak's first female corporate vice president and Chief Information Officer. In that capacity, she was recognized for innovation in the strategic use of outsourcing of information technology. In 1991, she became Vice President and General manager of Kodak's professional, printing and publishing imaging division, which at the time recorded more than $2 billion in revenue.

In 1994, Ms. Hudson joined Brady Corporation, a leading manufacturer of signs, labels, barcode systems and other identification solutions, as its president and chief executive officer. Under her leadership, Brady Corporation's presence expanded from eight to 22 countries, creating a global footprint for its products and services. The company's revenues doubled and market capitalization tripled. Ms. Hudson is now retired, crediting her past success to hard work and extremely good fortune.

Recognized by the professional community, Ms. Hudson was named Wisconsin Business Leader of the Year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Harvard Business School Alumni Association in 1995. In 1990, CIO Magazine honored her as CIO of the Year. She has served on a number of corporate boards including Apple Computer, Honeywell, CNH Global, Ericsson and Charming Shoppes. She is a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Medical College of Wisconsin and is currently a member of the board of trustees for Alverno Women's College in Milwaukee.

Away from work, she is active in community activities supporting the advancement of girls and women and the revitalization of the Walnut Way neighborhood in downtown Milwaukee. Ms. Hudson spends her spare time fishing, gardening and walking her dog. A resident of Fredericksburg, TX, she has also been catching up with two important things that she missed while working full-time: her husband and her son.

For more information about her, visit http://www.katherinehudson.info.

About Worldwide Who's Who
With over 500,000 members representing every major industry, Worldwide Who's Who is a powerful networking resource that enables professionals to outshine their competition, in part through effective branding and marketing. Worldwide Who's Who employs similar public relations techniques to those utilized by Fortune 500 companies, making them cost-effective for members who seek to take advantage of its career enhancement and business advancement services.

Worldwide Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third-party endorsement of their accomplishments, and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, it offers an online networking platform where members can establish new professional relationships.

For more information, please visit http://www.worldwidewhoswho.com.

Contact:
Ellen Campbell
Director, Media Relations
[email protected]

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