STAMFORD, Conn., March 11 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. today announced that Neil J. Metviner, President of Pitney Bowes Direct, was named "B-to-B Marketer of the Year" by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Metviner will be honored at the DMA's Annual Direct Marketing to Business (DMB) Conference, which will be held March 22-24 in Orlando, Florida. "I am honored to receive this award from the DMA," said Neil Metviner, President, Pitney Bowes Direct, which serves the small business marketplace. "This award recognizes the outstanding success of a strong team of marketing professionals in our small business solutions group, which I am very fortunate to lead. Marketing is one of the key components of our integrated business model. Marketing is more than just acquiring new customers. We look at every customer touch point -- whether it's a customer service call or a billing statement -- as an opportunity to cross-sell or strengthen a customer relationship. Our integrated marketing strategy has resulted in steady growth in our customer population, which is now more than 825,000 small businesses." "The DMA Business-to-Business Council recognizes Neil for his outstanding contributions and long-standing commitment to the advancement of B-to-B direct marketing," said Suti Prakash, vice president of e-commerce, Primedia and DMA B-to-B Council Award Chair. "Neil's pioneering spirit is an inspiration to all of us." Pitney Bowes Direct, a division of Pitney Bowes, delivers world-class mailing solutions to small and home office businesses. In addition to its hardware and software offerings, PB Direct publishes an award winning magazine, Priority, A Pitney Bowes Publication(TM), which provides valuable information for small businesses to help them run their businesses more successfully. "At PB Direct, we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to deliver additional value to our customers," said Metviner. "We've been able to leverage our brand to partner with other leading companies to offer our customers access to valuable products, services and information that can help them run their businesses with special discount prices." Pitney Bowes' marketing efforts have received numerous awards and accolades, including the 2003 B-to-B Magazine Marketer of the Year and the Direct Marketing Club of New York's Silver Apple Award (2003). The company launched a very successful corporate brand campaign in 2003 that significantly raised awareness among its target audience -- the "C-suite" -- regarding the business relevance of its integrated mail and document management capabilities. The 'B-to-B Marketer of the Year' Award recognizes an individual for their significant contributions to the B-to-B marketing discipline. Contributions may include commitment of time and energy as well as creative innovations in strategy, approach, and method, which may cover a broad scope of activities that includes: recognized achievement in B-to-B marketing activities; leadership and contribution to the growth of the discipline; and demonstrated innovative approaches to delivering successful results. Metviner joined Pitney Bowes in 2000 as President of its Office Direct Division. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes, Metviner held a number of senior executive positions at Cendant Corporation (formerly CUC International) and National Westminster Bank. He received his MBA and BA degrees from Case Western Reserve University.