Projo Biz Blog

Laurent Vernerey, the chief executive of American Power Conversion, will speak at this year's World Trade Day at Bryant University, the university announced Friday.

More than 500 people are expected to attend the conference, titled "The Power of Trade: Strategies for Growth in the Global Economy."

Vernerey took charge of APC after its 2007 acquisition by the French firm Schneider Electric SA. At the time, he pledged to raise the company's profile in Rhode Island, where the company was founded in 1981 by three researchers from MIT and grew into one of the leading producers of backup power and cooling equipment for corporate data centers. In May 2008, Vernerey announced that the corporate headquarters will not move from South Kingstown.

Lately, however, the company's profile has been shrinking. In March, APC said it was closing its Rhode Island manufacturing and distribution operations in West Warwick, eliminating 75 jobs. The next month, the company laid off an additional 30 Rhode Island employees, its third round of job cuts since late 2008. The company has 1100 employees in Rhode Island.

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