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"Last year's
AeA Venture Forum provided invaluable
connections between JMD and potential
investors."
Jim Stratigos,
CEO,
Jacket Micro Devices, Inc.
(Atlanta, GA)
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Board of
Directors Select 2007 AeA Policy Priorities
& Announce Resolutions on Healthcare &
Patent Reform
The
AeA Board of Directors held its winter
meeting in late January to discuss and
achieve consensus on the association’s top
policy priorities for 2007. I have said it
for years, but in a town like Washington,
DC, if an organization does not set five
clear policy priorities and communicate
them to Congress, then for all intents and
purposes, it has no priorities at all.
I also want to announce that the Board
approved two resolutions relating to AeA’s
position on Healthcare and Patent Reform. I
will expand on these topics, but first the
five priorities:
-
U.S. Competitiveness
- Improve science, technology, engineering,
& mathematics (STEM) education at all
levels
- Increase federal funding for basic
research, specifically for physical
sciences, engineering, and math and
computer science research
- Reform the U.S. high skilled visa and
green card system
- Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404
Either through regulatory or legislative
action, reduce the onerous and
disproportionate business tax levied on
small- and medium-sized companies by SOX
404 compliance
-
R&D Tax Credit/Tax
Reform
Create favorable tax incentives for
conducting business in the United States by
strengthening the R&D Tax Credit and making
it permanent
-
Trade Policy
Advance free and fair trade policies and
agreements; renewing Trade Promotion
Authority; and secure worldwide
Intellectual Property protection
-
Healthcare
The Board anticipates that healthcare will
surface as a public policy issue this year,
driven not only by the large number of
people uninsured, but also by businesses
whose healthcare costs continue to rise. As
a result, AeA supports legislation to spur
the deployment of Health IT initiatives –
such as electronic medical records – to
reduce costs, improve quality, and save
lives.
Each of the four policy committees of the
Board (International, Technology,
Workforce, and Finance & Business) were
tasked with determining their own set of
priority recommendations for the entire
Association. Once selected, the Chair of
each policy committee presented these
recommendations to the full Board for
discussion. Chairman of the Board Tim Guertin (bio) convened the discussion that led to
the selection of the top five priorities
listed above.
After considerable debate in each policy
committee and among the full Board, AeA has
achieved consensus on its position
regarding patent reform. Due to the diverse
nature of AeA membership – which spans the
high-tech industry with varying business
models and patent portfolios – the Board
decided that AeA should remain neutral on
comprehensive patent reform. AeA will
continue its longstanding position in favor
of full funding of the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office (PTO). We believe a fully
funded PTO will help reduce the increasing
lag time between when a patent is filed and
when it is granted.
Lastly, the Board directed AeA staff to
create an ad-hoc committee of staff and
Directors to explore healthcare issues
writ-large and to help advance the
eHealth
initiatives of President Bush and the
Secretary of Health & Human Services. The
rising cost of healthcare in the United
States and the growing base of uninsured
citizens are adversely impacting the
vitality and competitiveness of the nation. AeA believes the high-tech industry must
weigh in on this critical issue.
I thank the Board and all of our
member
companies that have helped us set these
priorities. We are optimistic that we will
achieve action on these priorities and look
forward to working with you over the next
year in Advancing the Business of
Technology.
Sincerely,
William T. Archey (bio)
President & CEO, AeA
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AeA
Members Speak to World Trade
Organization on Concerns Over
Information Technology Agreement
Product Coverage |
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 On
January 18, 2007, several representatives
from AeA member
companies and AeA Senior
Vice President
International, Rob Mulligan (bio),
participated in a program at the World
Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland
raising concerns about the loss of duty
free treatment for several IT products
covered by the Information Technology
Agreement (ITA). The program,
organized jointly by high-tech industry
from the U.S., Europe and Japan, included a
morning workshop with panel presentations
by industry speakers and a product
demonstration in the afternoon.
Speakers from
each industry group presented in three
panels during the workshop focusing on the
importance of maintaining the integrity of
the ITA by ensuring that products covered
under the agreement remain covered even if
they incorporate technological advances.
Specifically, decisions by some governments
to remove products from ITA duty free
coverage, such as set top boxes, LCD
monitors, digital still image video cameras
and multifunction printers or fax machines,
are not consistent with their commitments
under the agreement or the intent of the
negotiators. AeA member company
speakers from
Agilent,
Apple,
Cisco,
HP,
Microsoft, and
Xerox were among those
urging the ITA Committee to address these
concerns to prevent obsolescence of the ITA.
In the
afternoon, ITA Committee delegates were
able to see the products discussed during
the workshop. Many of these delegates
were not familiar with the industry’s
concerns and appreciated getting the
industry information as well as a better
understanding of how the technological
advances in products had not changed their
primary function for purposes of ITA
coverage.
AeA is working
closely with the U.S. government and other
high-tech associations to support a
proposal in the ITA Committee to address
our member company concerns. For more
information on AeA’s activities on the ITA
issues contact Rob Mulligan at
rob_mulligan@aeanet.org or Ken
Montgomery at
ken_montgomery@aeanet.org
Rob Mulligan (bio)
Senior Vice President, International
For more information on the International Issues affecting your company, visit:
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Tell
Congress to Act Quickly on
Competitiveness |
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 Since
the February 2005 release of AeA's
groundbreaking report, "Losing the
Competitiveness Advantage: The Challenge
for Science and Technology in the United
States" AeA has been actively asking
lawmakers in Congress to act quickly in
passing legislation that helps the U.S. to
remain competitive in the global economy.
Now AeA asks
you to join us in calling on Congress to
take action. Therefore, please join
over 200 leading corporations,
universities, and industry groups in
signing AeA's
American Innovation
Proclamation. The proclamation asks
Congress to:
-
Improve Student
Achievement in Math and Science;
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Renew America's
Commitment to Government Funded Basic
Research;
-
Welcome Highly
Educated Foreign Professionals; and
-
Make Permanent
a Strengthened R&D Tax Credit.
To sign your
company to the proclamation and to read the
full text visit:
www.aeanet.org/proclamation
The deadline
for signing is Friday, February 9.
AeA will be joining with numerous industry
groups on February 28 at a press
conference on Capitol Hill to deliver this
proclamation with a single voice to
Congress saying that they need to act soon
in passing an Innovation Agenda. Make
sure your company or organization weighs
in on the debate to help improve America's
Competitiveness!
John
Palafoutas (bio)
Senior Vice President for Domestic
Policy & Congressional Affairs
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AeA
State Government Affairs (AeA/SGA)
Winter SPAN Meeting Recap & Top
Priorities |
 Last
month, AeA/SGA held it's State Policy
Action Network (SPAN) meeting in Santa
Clara, CA with over 30
member
companies
represented. Twice every year, AeA's
members come together to discuss how to
shape public policy at the state level, and
to determine which issues are critical to
the high-tech industry and deserve our
immediate attention.
Chair Kristine Berman of
Hewlett-Packard
and Vice-Chair Jim Wall of
Microsoft led
this year's discussion as a number of hot
issues were brought up. Among the top
issues for the 2007 legislative cycle will
be:
Also brought up at the Winter SPAN meeting
was the issue of State Video Franchising
Relief, which will be finalized in
February. The Spring SPAN meeting is
scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, the
first week of June. Information
on the upcoming meeting will be posted soon
at
www.aeanet.org/SGA.
Marc-Anthony Signorino
(bio)
Director, State
Government Affairs
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Sun CEO & President to Keynote
AeA Annual Technology 4
Government Dinner - Register
Today!
AeA is pleased to announce
that Jonathan Schwartz
(bio), CEO &
President,
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
will be the keynote speaker at
the 2007
AeA Technology 4
Government Dinner, to be held
on Tuesday, June 5, in
Washington, DC. The
annual dinner is the premier
DC, networking
event bringing hundreds of
industry, government, and
congressional leaders together
at one venue.
Last year more than 600 people
attended the dinner including
Chief Information Officers and
procurement officials from
over 20 different Federal
agencies, Members of Congress,
White House officials, and
dozens of CEOs representing
high-tech companies.
Previous years' attendees have
included General Steven
Boutelle, Chief
Information Officer, U.S.
Dept. of the Army; Scott
Charbo, Chief Information
Officer, Dept. of Homeland
Security; Dan Mintz,
Chief Information Officer,
Dept. of Transportation;
David Drabkin, Chief
Information Officer, General
Services Administration (GSA);
Dr. Robert Kolodner,
Chief Health Information
Officer, Dept. of Veterans
Health Administration;
David Combs, Chief
Information Officer, USDA; and Rep.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
Mr. Schwartz joins a list of
many of tech’s top executives
who have spoken before this
unique audience of Government
and industry leaders.
These former keynotes include:
Sponsorship opportunities are
now available. For more
information and benefits of
sponsoring the dinner or a
table please contact Goldy
Kamali, at
goldy_kamali@aeanet.org or
202.682.4432.
Greg Poersch
(bio)
Vice President, Government and
Commercial Markets Group
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Wellness Program Adds
Value to AeA’s
New UnitedHealthcare Insurance Program
Wellness programs help control the cost
of health care by empowering employees to
improve their well-being and productivity.
The
AeA/UnitedHealthcare program has
initiated a unique National Wellness
Challenge that began in January.
The new program offers tools and support
for participating companies to motivate and
focus employees on proper diet, exercise
and smoking cessation.
The AeAHealth! wellness program offered
to our participating member companies will
initially focus on three essential
components:
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National initiative to reduce body
weight mass through better diet and
exercise; |
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A physical exercise campaign to get
high tech employees and their
families moving by walking, biking,
jogging or other indoor related
exercise; and |
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A national smoking cessation campaign
to actively high-tech employees to
quit smoking or use of tobacco
products. |
In addition, UnitedHealthcare offers a
specialized wellness counseling program for
enrolled AeA member companies with more
than 50 employees. Participating companies
have access to UnitedHealthcare’s Online
Personal Health manager website, which
offers confidential personal wellness
assessment and a variety of 6 week healthy
lifestyle programs.
UnitedHealthcare also has a full suite
of disease management and chronic condition
support programs to help employees dealing
with difficult medical issues to speed
recovery and to seek the best possible
medical care for their conditions. These
programs are specifically designed
to support healthy pregnancies, and for
chronic conditions such as heart failure,
diabetes, asthma, coronary artery and
pulmonary obstruction diseases.
To find out more about the AeA/UnitedHealthcare
Wellness Program, please contact
Veronica Franco
at 202.682.4459.
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Limited to 100 Companies
Register Today To Guarantee Your Spot
May 6-8, 2007
Monterey, California
Register today to guarantee
your spot at the AeA Micro Cap Financial Conference. Showcasing 100
publicly traded technology companies with up to $200M in market cap or
revenues, this AeA conference is a time and cost effective event for
emerging companies and investors focused on the high-tech industry. The
Micro Cap Conference will provide an opportunity to:
-
Access 300+ investors and
executives from 100 technology companies in one beautiful location;
-
Capture the attention of
technology focused Investors during the General Session;
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Utilize the small group
break out sessions to exchange information and make contacts; and
-
Network with company
executives and the financial community in a casual setting.
The AeA Micro Cap Conference
typically sells out quickly. For more information, visit
www.aeanet.org/microcap
or call
AeA's Financial Conferences Team at 408.987.4236.
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Federal R&D Funding by Field
Percent of Total
Funding
1982 - 2005
Note:
Technology = Engineering, physical
science, math, and computer science.
Source: U.S. National Science
Foundation
Over the
past two decades, federal R&D funding
has shifted away from technology –
defined as engineering, physical
sciences, math, and computer science.
In 1982, technology R&D represented 48
percent of the federal government's
R&D budget and life sciences
represented 36 percent. By 2005,
these priorities had switched, with
technology R&D at 32 percent of the
federal R&D budget and life sciences
at 54 percent.
While
supporting research that benefits the
physical health of Americans is
commendable and should continue,
technology R&D remains vital to the
economic health of the nation.
It fosters the cutting-edge
technologies that bolster the economic
and industrial strength of the United
States.
For more
information on Industry Data and AeA Publications visit
www.aeanet.org/research
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Downers Grove, IL
AeA Midwest Council hosted an
Executive Dinner with David Warren, Chief Financial Officer,
NASDAQ on January 18. Sixty-plus executives were in
attendance at the exclusive evening forum that focused on the
evolving global capital market and its impact on the high-tech
industry...read more.
Dave Warren, CFO, NASDAQ; Bob Blee,
Senior Manager, Silicon Valley Bank; Ken Hunt, Chairman, CEO,
VASCO Data Security International; Marty Singer, Chairman, CEO,
PCTEL, Inc.; Ed Longanecker, Executive Director, AeA Midwest
Council; Michael Schamberger, Partner, Grant Thornton; and Phil
Franklin, CFO, Littelfuse, Inc. (L-R)
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From January
22-23, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce held its
Deemed Export Advisory Committee meeting,
at AeA's office in Santa Clara, CA.
Pictured are Dr. Ruth David, President &
CEO, Analytic Services, Inc; Gen. John
Gordon, former-Deputy Director, CIA; Dr.
Eva Pell, Sr. VP and Dean of the Graduate
School, Pennsylvania State University; Dr.
William Wuif, President, National Academy
of Engineering, University of Virginia; and
Mr. Arthur Bienenstock, Stanford University
(L-R). |
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On January 24,
the AeA San Diego Council hosted the "50
Ideas in 50 Minutes" sales and marketing
roundtable at the UCSD Extension, which
included a panel of five
marketing and sales veterans who offered
their best ideas on how to immediately
improve performance. |
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In Woburn, MA,
Maria Loughlin of Kronos, Anne Doherty
Johnson of AeA, and Peg Carlson of Colliers
International, work as a team in the AeA
New England "Delivering
Difficult Performance Messages" program
on January 24. |
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Ed Longanecker,
Executive Director of AeA's Midwest
Council, presents Edward Kaplan, Chairman,
CEO, and Co-Founder of
Zebra Technologies
Corporation, with The Flame of
Excellence Award to recognize his
countless contributions to Zebra
Technologies and the high-tech industry on
January 30, in Vernon Hills, IL. |
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Tim Guertin,
AeA Chairman of the Board & President &
CEO, Varian Medical Systems; and William T. Archey, AeA President & CEO;
present the
AeA Florida 2007 Abacus Awards to Traver
Gruen-Kennedy, DayJet (formerly with Citrix
Systems, Inc.); Lisa Faia, Microsoft;
Jo Moskowitz, Citrix Systems, Inc.; and Buck
Deal, Cross Match Technologies in
Hallandale Beach, FL on January 30 (L-R). |
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Clare Freeman Emerson
Executive Director
AeA Texas Council
P:
972.386.6540
F: 972.386.6029
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Clare Freeman
Emerson is Executive Director
of the
AeA Texas Council based
in Dallas. In her role, she
works closely with two program
managers, membership director,
and state policy director to
grow AeA membership and
provide valuable programs and
services to member companies
in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana
and Arkansas. Clare has held
this position with AeA for 6
years in three councils,
Sacramento, Bay Area (today
known as the
Silicon
Valley/Northern California
Council), and now
Texas.
Emerson
describes her job this way, “I
absolutely love what I do, it
is a privilege to work with
and serve AeA member
companies. And our Texas team
is a great group of very
talented and devoted people. The sheer variety of
technology companies we work
with makes every day
interesting. In addition to
our own company execs, my job
gives me the opportunity to
work with elected officials,
university heads, and
community leaders, some of the
most dynamic people I’ve ever
met. And the companies that
join AeA are unique. They’re
made up of really smart,
innovative people. And I get
to do all this in my home
state. I consider myself very
fortunate.”
Prior to
joining AeA, Clare was the
Executive Vice President of
Sales and Marketing for
iConvention Software in
Sacramento and Director of
Business Development for
Meridian Project Systems, also
in Sacramento. This hands-on
experience with inventive and
rapidly growing high tech
companies gives her useful
insight into the challenges
AeA members experience in
their own companies.
She
developed a keen interest in
technology while serving as
Director of Corporate
Development for the Sacramento
PBS affiliate for 5 years. Her
clients represented some of
the largest high tech
companies in Silicon Valley.
In her role, she was
responsible for putting
together funding packages for
locally produced PBS
programming. The relationships
with these companies gave her
an opportunity to spend lots
of time on their campuses and
learn firsthand about their
technology, culture and
people.
Clare earned
a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Journalism from the University
of North Texas and started her
career with the Dallas Morning
News. She then went on to work
in print and broadcast
advertising and promotion in
Denver and San Diego. She has
two children ages 16 and 21,
and two dogs. |
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