Bringing in the Headliners: Microsoft's CFO To Speak in Charlotte on Thursday
Editor's note: "Charlotte Beat" is a regular feature on Wednesdays in Local Tech Wire.Who says there's no IT industry in Charlotte?
If anyone had any doubts, those will certainly be cast aside on Thursday when several hundred members of Charlotte's IT community gather at the Omni Charlotte Hotel to hear a luncheon presentation by John Connors, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft Corp.
Connors has been with Microsoft since 1989 and is responsible for the company's information technology organization and manufacturing/licensing operations, in addition to business operations, including finance, investor relations, administration and real estate.
Thursday's event kicks off the second year of the Speakers Series sponsored by Information Technology Charlotte (iTC), a division of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Last year's initial series was led off by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. In the mid-1990s, before the series was established, the Chamber sponsored a presentation by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Does Charlotte have an "in" with Microsoft? You could say that. The Queen City is home to the company's second largest office. Only its worldwide headquarters outside of Seattle is bigger. More than 800 Microsoft employees work in Charlotte. The company is known for its local civic involvement, which includes donating software to charities. For example, the Charlotte office recently donated nearly $70,000 worth of programs to Crisis Assistance Ministry, a group that provides emergency assistance to families to prevent homelessness.
Getting message out about Charlotte.
One purpose of the series is to provide members of Charlotte's IT community with the opportunity to hear from industry leaders in person. But it's also a way to market and promote Charlotte, in the words of iTC's mission statement, "as a vibrant technology environment--where technology works."
Dee Means, the Chamber staffer who heads up iTC, also credits Cherryl Pressley of Team Technologies, a Microsoft partner, for the strength of the speakers series. Pressley will become iTC chair in January.
Other previous speakers have been Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO, chairman and co-founder of SAS, and Sanjay Kumar, CEO of Computer Associates, who spoke in conjunction with the ITEC expo iTC sponsored in June.
Other scheduled speakers for 2002 are John T. Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and Ginni Rometty, general manager of IBM Global Services, on Monday, Nov. 4. Both are luncheon events.
Explains Means, "The fact we get these big names here shows we are big enough that it's worth their while to come here. Then, afterwards, when they tell others about the size of our IT community, how helpful we were, and the positive experience they had, it helps get the word out about us to others in the industry."
Chamber of Commerce members may join iTC for an additional annual fee ranging from $25 to $500. There are currently about 400 individuals on the iTC membership roster. Members include CIOs, presidents, company owners, general managers, marketing managers, sales managers, technical professionals, graphic/web designers, business developers, attorneys and financial investors.
iTC committee's wide outreach
iTC has several sitting committees, such as Marketing and Economic Development, Networking and Promotion, Linkages to Higher Education and eLearning. The eLearning Committee is involved with two highly successful outreach programs, TechConnect, in which IT professionals teach practical skills to high school clubs, and Computer-Access-in-the Neighborhood (CAN), which works to give residents of low-income neighborhoods access to computers and online opportunities.
In addition to touting Charlotte as an IT center, providing networking opportunities for members, and offering community service, iTC also recognizes local excellence in the field with its annual Blue Diamond Awards presented in February.
Admission for each luncheon is $45 for Chamber of Commerce members and $55 for non-members. For more information on Connors's presentation or other future luncheons, contact Means at: dmeans@charlottechamber.com or at 704-378-1350.
Charlotte Chamber: www.charlottechamber.com
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