NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 13, 2012) - GTDC U.S. VENDOR SUMMIT -- The [ Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) ] today announced the recipients of its esteemed U.S. Rising Star Awards, which recognize tech companies with exceptional sales growth through U.S. distributors over the past year. GTDC members are the world's most successful technology distributors, driving more than $100 billion in product sales across the globe. The GTDC's 7^th U.S. Rising Star Awards were presented Sept. 12 in Newport Beach, Calif., at the annual dinner event kicking off the organization's two-day Vendor Summit conference at the Fairmont Hotel.

The 12 U.S. Gold, Silver and Bronze GTDC Rising Star winners, listed below by revenue categories, were selected based on year-over-year sales growth rates within [ The NPD Group ]'s Distributor Track®.

Rising Star Awards Methodology
Sales results for Rising Star award winners are based on actual U.S. revenue over the past year, as reported by industry research organization The NPD Group using its Distributor Track® service. Available by subscription, the Distributor Track aggregates actual distributor sell-through data to enable sharp insight into channel sales and pricing trends with the ability to drill down into specific product subcategories, including detailed attributes based on specific areas of interest. To be eligible for a Rising Star award, vendors are required to have sold corresponding products through tech distributors for a minimum of one year.

2012 GTDC U.S. Vendor Summit
The 2012 GTDC U.S. Vendor Summit -- the industry's premier gathering of tech distribution leaders, channel executives and research analysts -- continues today with a broad range of panels, presentations and breakout sessions focused on key trends, issues and opportunities. This year's featured keynote speakers are Brocade CEO Mike Klayko and CDW President and CEO Tom Richards. More than 200 executives are attending this year's Summit, including representatives of approximately 70 different tech companies. For more information on the Summit and other GTDC events, go to [ http://www.gtdc.org/events.php ]

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 2,000 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food, home and office, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless. For more information, [ contact us ] or visit [ npd.com ] and [ http://www.npdgroupblog.com ]. Follow us on Twitter: [ @npdtech ] and [ @npdgroup ].

About The Global Technology Distribution Council
The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) is a worldwide industry association dedicated to defining and promoting the role of wholesale distribution in a successful and healthy information technology channel. The Council is comprised of the computer industry's top wholesale distributors dedicated to serving "the channel," a network of skilled value-added resellers and retail stores focused on providing hardware, software, and services to businesses and consumers around the globe. GTDC members include AB S.A (WSE: [ ABPL ]), ABC Data, ALSO-Actebis (SIX: [ ALSN ]), DCC SerCom, Arrow Electronics (NYSE: [ ARW ]), Avnet (NYSE: [ AVT ]), Brightstar, Computer Gross Italia, Computerlinks, Copaco N.V., D&H, Esprinet (PRT.MI), Ingram Micro (NYSE: [ IM ]), Intcomex, Magirus AG, Officer Distribuidora, Redington (BSE: [ REDI ]), SiS Technologies (HKSE: [ 0529 ]), ScanSource (NASDAQ: [ SCSC ]), SYNNEX (NYSE: [ SNX ]), Tech Data (NASDAQ: [ TECD ]), 20:20 Mobile Group, Westcoast LTD and Westcon.