News

Conference lets New Mexico tout high-tech assets

Though no one predicts last week’s Inc 500 conference will result in a mass
immigration of companies to New Mexico, by all accounts it was a success,
especially with regard to showing off the state as a technology center with a high
quality of life, organizers say.

Andrew Webb NMBW Staff

The three-day event,
sponsored annually by
Boston-based Inc Magazine
to celebrate the country’s
500 fastest-growing private
entrepreneurial companies,
featured discussions and
educational seminars led by
national and local business
leaders as well as tours to
local businesses. It
attracted more than 600
people according to the
magazine.

And the events left visitors
— the majority of whom
were executives of Inc 500 companies — with a new take on New Mexico, which
is sometimes overlooked for high-tech industry, says Leslie Padilla, director of
the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s (NMEDD) office of science
and technology.

"It sends a message of `fast-growth’ technology companies in New Mexico," she
says.

Jon Aronson, of DW Turner Public Relations, which bore the brunt of organizing
for the $350,000 event, says the convention achieved its ultimate goal of bringing
people into the state who otherwise wouldn’t have visited.

"They came in with perhaps no conception of
New Mexico and left with a favorable, positive
view," he says.

John Garcia, cabinet secretary for NMEDD,
says he spoke to several attendees who were
amazed at the state’s assets, such as the
universities and national labs.

"We’ve gotten a few calls from people just
saying how much they appreciated New
Mexico," he says, adding that a few had at
least hinted at more than just a passing
interest. "Hopefully we can keep those
relationships going. We’ll be pursuing some leads."

Inc Magazine Publisher Lee Jones said the event far exceeded expectations,
especially as editors expected a low turnout because of the struggling economy.
He says though companies likely won’t relocate, the conference might still
provide the state a return on its investment — a subject that was debated in the
months leading up to the conference.

"There’s always been this underlying theme of whether they’d relocate, and
there’s always that possibility," he says. "But the big thing about these
companies is that they’re growing very rapidly, and looking for places to expand,
develop branches and sales offices, that sort of thing."

Marc Orchant, who calls himself the "storyteller" for VanDyke Software, one of
four New Mexico companies on this year’s Inc 500 list, says having
representatives from local companies address attendees provided a great
opportunity to share ideas with companies "you wouldn’t think of as being
fast-growth."

"We got to meet people from all around the country — a very interesting
cross-section of the economy," he says.

He says previous Inc 500 conferences have had less "local flavor."

"Some of the things we’ve learned [are] that in the past, some localities had been
passive," he says. "We showed really good community buy-in all around."

VanDyke Software founder and President Jeff Van Dyke helped lead two of the
breakout sessions, including a panel discussion on entrepreneurship in New
Mexico and a two-part seminar on strategic planning. Other New Mexican-led
sessions included a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) talk led by
industry leaders from UNM, Sandia National Laboratories and companies like
MesoSystems. And attendees could take tours of Intel Corp.’s Rio Rancho plant,
as well as visit optical device manufacturer Emcore.

National business figures who appeared at the conference included headliners
Thomas Stemberg, founder and chairman of office supply giant Staples, and Gary
Kusin, who discussed his rise from starting a chain of mall video game stores to
taking the helm of copy giant Kinkos a year ago.

Inc Magazine says Albuquerque was chosen for the more than $4 billion spent on
research and development in the state each year, its federal research
laboratories, abundant labor pool, commitment to infrastructure development and
tax incentives. The conference marked the 20th anniversary of the event. The
state is home to four of the Inc 500 class of 2001: returning alumni Optomec and
ProLaw Software, ranked at 168 and 387, respectively, and newly listed VanDyke
Software and Terradigm Inc., coming in at 213 and 330, respectively.

Conspicuously absent from the conference was Eclipse Aviation founder and
CEO Vern Raburn, who cancelled a scheduled tour of the Eclipse facilities and a
planned talk during the conference, apparently in response to a negative article
about Eclipse that appeared in the June 1 edition of Inc Magazine.

"It would have been a good audience for Eclipse," Aronson says of the tour. "A lot
of these CEOs own their own planes."

Garcia says it was great to see the state in the national spotlight.

"One thing we lack is entrepreneurs," he says. "Well, here was one moment
where we had hundreds of them in the state. Any chance we have to expose New
Mexico to the top 500 business people, that’s great for the state."

[email protected] | 768-7008 x159

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2002/07/01/story5.html

Posted in:

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.