Ed Longanecker to Lead AeA’s Public Policy Efforts in Midwest

Washington, DC (March 5, 2008) – One day after appointing Roxanne Gould to lead AeA’s state government affairs efforts, Christopher Hansen, AeA’s President and CEO, named six regional policy directors to support member companies in State Capitols across the country. Ed Longanecker, who is based in AeA’s Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois office, was chosen to lead public policy efforts on issues in the Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).

“To assure consistency and effectiveness in providing our members with a greater presence across the country, I have assigned staff to focus on specific policy areas that our members have established as top priorities for the high-tech industry,” said Christopher Hansen. “This new structure will streamline the communication process and enable quick and efficient action on state policy matters.”

Ed Longanecker will remain Executive Director for AeA's Midwest Council, in addition to managing AeA's expanded state legislative initiatives. He joined AeA in 2000, and relocated to Illinois to open AeA's Midwest operations in 2004, after having spent five years as the managing director of AeA’s Texas Council. Longanecker currently serves on Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Council of Technology Advisors (MCTA) and BiTmaP's Board of Advisors. He is a long time advocate of high-tech business issues, and represents many of our industry’s leading companies on a host of critical issues at the state and local levels.

Prior to joining AeA, Longanecker was Vice President of Can-Tex Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas drilling company based in Dallas.

Longanecker holds an undergraduate degree in Business Management and a Masters of Business Administration from Amberton University.

Each of the six regional policy directors will be responsible for tracking overall state legislative activity in their respective regions. The other regional policy directors are:

• California - Joe Gregorich (Sacramento, CA)
• Northeast – Justin Wright (Albany, NY)
• Northwest - Jim Craven (Lake Oswego, OR)
• Southeast – Ben Aderson (Washington, DC)
• Southern – Jeff Clark (Austin, TX)

For more information about AeA’s State Government Affairs program, and to see a detailed map for each region, please visit www.aeanet.org/SGAmap.

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About AeA
AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit www.aeanet.org.

This page was last updated on 03/05/08.