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"The AeA has a very high level of access in
Washington and in state capitals. Their success
in bringing the competitiveness issues of the
U.S. high tech industry to the attention of
Congress has been remarkable."
Tim Guertin,
President & CEO, Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
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AeA Welcomes
an Alliance with UnitedHealthcare
For more than a quarter century the AeA
has been helping our member companies find
solutions for their corporate
healthcare
insurance needs. We are proud to continue
that tradition by
announcing a new national
partnership with UnitedHealthcare as AeA's
recommended insurer of choice to provide
the
medical, dental, and vision insurance
needs of AeA member high-tech companies.
The cost of medical insurance continues
to be a major challenge confronting
high-tech companies. Healthcare costs have
emerged as an issue in the
competitiveness
of our industry as they represent an ever
larger percentage of operating expenses.
At the urging of the Executive Committee
of AeA's National
Board of Directors, we
undertook a review of our insurance
programs more than a year ago. The trigger
was the oft-heard refrain of our member
companies to help find better methods of
managing healthcare program costs. The
designation of
UnitedHealthcare comes at a
very important time for high-tech
companies, so I would like to share some of
the key considerations in our decision.
First, we set the goal of finding the
best positioned national insurer to help
better address the requirements of a far
larger base of our member companies in a
much broader geographic range. More simply
stated, there are a number of locales in
the United States with a high concentration
of
AeA members that we have been unable to
provide healthcare coverage in the past. We
will now be able to do so through UnitedHealthcare.
We also sought to select the company
with the "best in class" networks of
physicians and hospitals who had the proven
tools to make healthcare easier and more
"user friendly" for employees. The new
program offers a complete line of PPO, HMO,
and consumer driven healthplan options
(also referred to as HSA's or HRA's), along
with dental and vision options. We can even
help with Cobra administration.
By choosing UnitedHealthcare we have
repositioned the AeA program to
provide
advantages to more member companies,
particularly in the area of expanded
wellness services, a top flight employee
assistance plan, and a 24/7 nurse hotline. Through its acquisition of PacifiCare, UnitedHealthcare is also now a major player
in California offering a very robust set of
alternatives.
We are very impressed by
UnitedHealthcare's focus on affordability
issues, so often mentioned by high-tech
companies as a key concern in structuring
their healthcare plans. And, UnitedHealthcare has proven tools to help
both employees and HR managers more simply
and efficiently navigate the claims and
administration process.
This will all be included in our new AeA
UnitedHealthcare program, and we believe
will offer a terrific set of choices for
your company to consider in the future. For
more information, contact
Eric Meyer, AeA
Senior Vice President for Insurance
Services, at 202.682.4430, or
UnitedHealthcare AeA Sales Team at
1.800.809.9831.
Sincerely,
William T. Archey (bio)
President and CEO, AeA
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Tim Bennett, Chief Operating Officer
& Executive Vice President, AeA; Kevin J. Ruth, Chief Executive
Officer, UnitedHealthcare - Mid-Atlantic; and Eric Meyer, Senior
Vice President Insurance Programs, AeA, signing the contract (L-R)
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William T.
Archey, President & CEO, AeA; and
Kevin J. Ruth, Chief Executive Officer,
UnitedHealthcare - Mid-Atlantic (L-R) |
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AeA
Europe All-Member Meeting
Establishes
Policy Priorities and New
Initiatives |
Over 40
representatives from
AeA Europe
member companies met in Brussels on September 19 for the
first All-Members gathering in several
years to review and assess the operations
and
policy priorities of AeA in Europe. Members expressed strong support for the
current policy focus and activities of AeA
Europe in the areas of environment,
standards, and security. At the same time,
break out groups discussed steps AeA Europe
could take to further enhance its work on
behalf of the U.S. high-tech industry in
Brussels.
The program was
kicked off by a presentation and discussion
with Julian Priestley, Secretary General of
the European Parliament. Mr. Priestley
reviewed the growing importance of the
Parliament in the European legislative
process. He also highlighted the need for
greater communication and coordination
between the European Parliament and the U.S.
Congress, noting that the Parliament will
be placing a senior official in Washington,
DC, to advance that goal. AeA Europe Chair, Maja Wessels
(Honeywell), urged Mr. Priestley to take
advantage of the transatlantic AeA network
in his efforts to improve the U.S. – EU
legislator dialogue.
In the review
of AeA Europe, James Lovegrove
(bio), Managing
Director, presented the results of the
annual survey which found 96 percent of
responding companies are satisfied or very
satisfied with the work of the office.
Member feedback during the conference
reaffirmed the value of AeA Europe’s
focused contributions on critical issues
such as the
Directives on RoHS
(restrictions on hazardous substances) and
WEEE (waste of electrical and electronic
equipment) and energy efficiency. They also
appreciated AeA Europe’s efficient internal
process, reputation for solid technical
expertise, and access to key decision
makers. Rob Mulligan (bio), AeA Senior Vice
President International, reminded member
companies that their active participation
in the
committees is the most important
factor in AeA Europe’s success.
While
satisfaction is high, there is always room
for new ideas. Break out groups offered a
range of suggestions for broader outreach
to EU institutions, new programs and
research, improved internal operations, and
future policy trends to monitor. For more
information about the work of AeA Europe,
contact Rob Mulligan at 202.682.4452 or
rob_mulligan@aeanet.org.
Rob Mulligan (bio)
Senior Vice President, International
AeA Europe
member company executives and staff
For more information on the International Issues affecting your company, visit:
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Patent Reform to Highlight AeA Board
Discussion on 2007 Policy Priorities |
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The AeA
Board of Directors
will be conducting its fall meeting from
October 17 – 19, in San Jose, California,
to begin the process of deciding AeA’s top
five public
policy priorities
for 2007.
During this
meeting the board will also debate the
contentious issue of
patent reform.
At the last meeting of the board in June,
the high-tech executives heard from both
sides of the debate. Representatives
from
QUALCOMM
and
Dell
discussed their respective company views on
the issue and moderated a lengthy
discussion among Board members. The
Board agreed that a more detailed debate
should occur at the October meeting.
At the
forthcoming meeting, each of the four
policy committees of the board will receive
individual briefings that will describe the
various issues surrounding “patent reform.”
The goal of the board meeting is to come
away with a clear AeA position on this
heated issue since Congress will act on
this issue in 2007 and any legislation will
have an impact on all of AeA’s member
companies.
The Board will
also lay the groundwork for a full public
policy agenda for 2007. Issues
surrounding
competitiveness,
R&D,
tax reform, and
H-1B visa/green card reform will be
high on the list for consideration by the
industry executives. Board members
have stated that they also want a full
discussion on health care issues, including
health IT and records standardization.
For more
information, please contact AeA’s Senior
Vice President, John Palafoutas at
john_palafoutas@aeanet.org.
John
Palafoutas (bio)
Senior Vice President for Domestic
Policy & Congressional Affairs
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Landmark AeA-sponsored Measure To
Create California CIO Unanimously
Passes Legislature |
AeA members
have long sought a California Chief
Information Officer (CIO) with real
statutory, enterprise-wide authority to
rationalize and hence help facilitate and
promote technology procurements by one of
the largest government purchasers in the
world.
SB 834 (Figueroa) creating just such an
office was passed unanimously by the State
Legislature and will now go to Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is expected to
sign the bill into law. This bill
includes AeA-sponsored language to
establish a cabinet-level CIO with real
statutory power to improve IT procurement
across the entirety of state government.
AeA took the
lead on this legislation as part of its
California Government Procurement Reform
Initiative because our members believe an
empowered State CIO will have the ability
to make California less risk averse where
buying technology is concerned.
Moreover, such a CIO will be able to drive
enterprise-wide applications and standards
working across state agencies, providing a
singular and sophisticated view of state
data systems. It is only with
enterprise systems that state government
can increase accuracy, reduce fraud, and
leverage programs to better serve the
citizens of California, all the while
promoting technology as an essential means
to almost every public policy end.
This measure
will require the Governor to establish this
office no later than January 1, 2008, and
then appoint a CIO subject to confirmation
by the State Senate.
AeA's
success in enacting California CIO
legislation caps a remarkable two years of
AeA leadership on IT procurement issues.
Last year, after AeA convened procurement
forums throughout the state, the
association successfully sponsored a
sweeping bill that requires IT bids to pose
problems and ask for solutions instead of
putting out pre-determined product designs.
It also broadly requires the state to
systematize and rationalize IT
procurements. Likewise, this year,
AeA's strategy of working with state
officials appears to have prompted them to
change the basis for requiring performance
bonds, potentially saving IT companies
millions of dollars.
Lastly, the
AeA Sacramento office has added a full time
Director of CA Procurement. The new
hire will be starting on October 30 and her
responsibilities will include helping AeA
members meet and develop relationships with
procurement officials, while also working
with our membership in an effort to further
improve and streamline the state
procurement process.
For more
information about California Procurement
policy or to get involved with the
California Government Procurement
Initiative, please contact
Kathy Hatch,
Manager, California Legislative Affairs, at
916.443.9059.
Roxanne
Gould
(bio)
Senior Vice President, California
Government and Public Affairs
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New AeA Member Benefit-$1,400 in
Savings from PR Newswire
Trying to drive
traffic to your Web site? Rolling
out a new service or product?
Want to increase online sales?
Looking for media coverage?
If you
answered yes to any of the above
questions, PR Newswire can help.
PR Newswire, AeA's
preferred partner for news
distribution, can connect your
message to all your important
audiences -- the media, consumers,
and the investment community.
Additionally, when
you distribute a technology
related news release over PR
Newswire, it will automatically
appear on the AeA’s highly
trafficked
Website.
To learn more about
PR Newswire, visit the
PR Toolkit,
which includes educational
articles, press release
writing tips,
answers to common questions
and
distribution information.
Plus, you'll
receive a special package of free
and discounted services valued at
$1,400*. To take advantage of
this offer, submit your contact
information through the
Information Request Form and
someone from PR Newswire will
contact you within one business
day.
*Offer available to
new PR Newswire members only.
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Register to Attend
Tech's Best Private & Public Company
Financial Conferences
AOL
Executive Jason Calacanis Keynotes
AeA's Technology
Capital Conference
October 11-12, 2006
Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort &
Spa - Dana Point, CA
Featuring
privately held technology and life
sciences companies
with revenues from $5 to 75
million
You are invited to
attend the
AeA Technology Capital
Conference. This unique
middle-market capital conference
will feature privately held
high-tech companies seeking
funding, financing alternatives,
or opportunities for mergers,
acquisitions, strategic
partnerships or enhanced
visibility. The conference will
bring together private investors,
finance professionals, investment
bankers, corporate investors and
top executives from
growth-oriented, privately-held
high-tech companies. See the
current list of
selected presenting companies.
Additional companies will be added
as accepted.
In addition,
network with an outstanding
line-up of keynote speakers and
panelists, including:
Robert E. Grady, Managing
Director, The Carlyle Group,
Jason McCabe Calacanis, CEO and
Co-Founder, Weblogs, Inc. and GM,
AOL Netscape,
and
Dirk I. Gates, CEO, Xirrus Inc.
Register Now
Click here
to access the registration forms.
Contact
Tina Morais
at 408.987.4234 or visit
www.aeanet.org/CapitalConference
for
more information.
November 5-8, 2006
Monterey Conference Center -
Monterey, CA
Access
nearly 700 investors this November
in Monterey, California. The
conference will feature
presentations from 200 public AeA
member companies with a market cap
or revenues of $100 million to $4
billion. Attending executives
benefit from the opportunity to
showcase their company to
investors, network within an
informal setting and develop
business opportunities. See the
list of
presenting
companies and add your company to the roster
today. Contact
Melissa La Vigna
at 408.987.4236 or
www.aeanet.org/Classic
for more information.
Investors & Financial Attendees -
Register Now
Click here to access the
investor registration form.
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Have you reserved your spot for the
2006 AeA Medal of Achievement dinner in San Jose on October 18? This year’s event promises to be
very special as it will be the first time in 47 years that AeA will honor
luminaries from the software sector. We encourage you to join us in
honoring Chuck Geschke and John Warnock’s contribution to Adobe’s 25
Years of Innovation.
Purchasing a table for 10 is a great opportunity for you to include your
significant other and thank colleagues, clients and/or prospects and
business partners with a wonderful evening of networking and honoring two
of Silicon Valley’s great innovators – Chuck Geschke and John Warnock.
Table gifts will be available for all attendees, and this dinner promises
to be a fun event you don’t want to miss! Purchase a table of 10 for
this special dinner today. The price per table is $2,000 for AeA
members and $2,500 for non AeA members. You may also purchase
individual tickets.
Register online or call Colette Gonsalves at 408.987.4248.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2006 AeA Medal of Achievement dinner
to be held on October 18, from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM, at the Fairmont
Hotel, San Jose, CA.
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Content
Providers & Consumers Pay Billions of
Dollars Annually to Network Operators
to Connect to the Internet
Cost
Estimates to Access the Internet
(December 2005)
Source:
AeA, The
Case for Preserving Network Neutrality
There
seems to be the perception that
Internet companies (also called
Internet content providers) and, to a
lesser extent, Internet consumers are
not paying their fair share to access
the Internet. This perception is
just wrong.
Much like a telephone call where both
the person making the call and the
person receiving the call must pay to
access the telephone system, both
sides of an Internet transaction (the
consumer and the content provider)
must pay to access the network.
A conservative analysis of the 43
million residential broadband
customers in the United States shows
that these consumers spend over $19
billion a year accessing the Internet.
Additionally, an estimated 38 million
residential subscribers still use
dial-up connections. Based on a
conservative $10/month plan, they
spend at least $4.6 billion a year
accessing the Internet.
In addition, there are 7.3 million
business Internet subscribers whose
cost for Internet access ranges
widely, from small businesses whose
costs are comparable to the
residential user to large companies
who pay billions of dollars a year to
make content accessible to consumers.
Using a very conservative estimate of
$150/month, businesses spend at least
$13.1 billion a year to make their
content available on the Internet.
For more details on network
neutrality, see AeA's recently
released report,
The
Case for Preserving Network Neutrality.
This report exams network neutrality,
which has been the guiding principle
of the Internet since its inception,
in the context of American innovation
and competition.
* Detail data are not available for
business broadband.For more
information on Industry Data and AeA Publications visit
www.aeanet.org/research
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AeA Texas Summit
Brings Leaders of Government, Academia, and Industry to Discuss
Key U.S. Competitiveness Issues at the University of Texas, Dallas,
on August 30
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Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Keynote Speaker & Summit Honorary Chairman |
Tom Luce, Assistant Secretary,
U.S. Department of Education |
Lee Jackson,
Chancellor, University of North Texas System |
Phil Wilson, Deputy Chief of
Staff, Office of the Governor, State of Texas |
Sue Dark, CEO, DeepNines
Technologies, Inc, and member of the AeA Board of
Directors |
Julie England, Vice President,
Texas Instruments, and member of the AeA Board of
Directors
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Over 120
high-tech industry leaders participated in
the AeA Silicon Valley/Northern California
Council's
11th Annual High-Tech Open at Harding
Park, on August 24, 2006. Pictured
are the winning foursome from Manex. |
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Attendees of
the Fourth Annual AeA Southeast Spirit of
Endeavor Awards Program, held on September
14, in Atlanta,
watch a video that Governor Sonny Perdue
(R-GA) recorded for the event that
discusses the importance of the technology
industry to the state of Georgia and
thanking those companies nominated for
their continued support to keep the
Southeast and the U.S. competitive in the
21st century. |
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Over 100
regional tech leaders attended the
AeA Mountain States Golf Classic Presented
by PR Newswire in Denver, Colorado, on
September 14. Participants took
advantage of swing instructions provided by
nationally recognized McGetrick Golf
Academy and also raised money for the AeA
Education Foundation which supports math,
science, and engineering education in the
Rocky Mountain Region. |
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Vernon M.
Bettencourt, Jr., Deputy CIO, U.S. Army
(pictured), and Massachusetts CIO Louis
Gutierrez keynoted the
AeA New England What, Why, & How the
Government is Buying Conference on
September 15, at the Volpe Center in
Cambridge, MA. Additional, industry
and government experts spoke about local,
state, and national IT government
contracting. |
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Tim Jemal
Executive Director
AeA Orange County Council
P:
949.477.5300 x102
F: 949.477.5314
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Tim
Jemal is the Executive Director
of
AeA’s Orange County Council.
Jemal concentrates on growing the
membership base of AeA with
focused strategic priorities
that grow and improve high-tech
businesses in the region.
Improving access to capital,
increasing the visibility of Orange
County's tech treasures, driving
innovation in K-12 education,
providing strategic networking
opportunities through events
like the 500+
High-Tech Innovation Awards,
and substantially increasing the
local political power of
technology companies are among
the key priorities for the
Orange County Council in FY '07.
Recently, the Orange County
Council spearheaded the
development of a new and unique
middle-market capital conference
that will feature privately held
high-tech companies seeking
funding, financing alternatives,
or opportunities for mergers,
acquisitions, strategic
partnerships or enhanced
visibility. The
AeA Technology Capital
Conference, to be held
October 11-12 in Dana Point, CA,
will bring together private
investors, finance
professionals, investment
bankers, corporate investors and
top executives from
growth-oriented, privately-held
high-tech companies.
Prior to joining AeA, Tim
directed a unique statewide
California nonprofit coalition
of long-term care health
systems, leading seniors and
community-based organizations
and the state’s largest health
care union. Before moving to
California in 2001, Tim worked
as a lobbyist in Washington,
D.C. for Siemens Corporation, a
national construction trade
association, and the Armenian
Assembly, a national nonprofit
organization. At the Armenian
Assembly, Jemal directed
national public affairs and
grassroots political programs.
In
1998, Jemal established and
served as President of Silk Road
Investments, Inc., an
international business
development company which
launched one of the first Voice
over the Internet Protocol (VoIP)
businesses in the former Soviet
Union.
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