About the State of Technology Luncheon
Held each spring since 1998, the State of Technology Luncheon is the Technology Alliance's largest annual event. Business, research and government leaders from across the state come together at the luncheon each year to celebrate Washington's progress in building a vibrant technology-based economy and to gain insights from visionary leaders of innovative, globally recognized companies and institutions.
2009 Luncheon: Framing the Future
The Technology Alliance's 2009 luncheon featured a keynote conversation with experienced entrepreneur and industry visionary Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect at Microsoft, facilitated by TA board member Ed Lazowska, who holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at University of Washington.
Governor Chris Gregoire kicked off the luncheon program with a welcome address. TA Chair Emeritus Marty Smith, Managing Director at MetaJure, shared highlights of Alliance of Angels' investment results and honored SNAPin Software, winner of AoA's 2009 Company of the Year Award. TA Chair Jeremy Jaech, CEO of Verdiem, completed our action-packed program with a presentation of key findings from the Technology Alliance's latest study benchmarking Washington's performance in education, research and entrepreneurship relative to other technology-intensive states.
View the luncheon program online, courtesy of TVW! Watch it.
Read/download the benchmarking slideshow here (PDF).
Past Luncheon Highlights
2008 Luncheon
The 2008 State of Technology Luncheon featured a keynote conversation with Internet pioneer and Turing Award winner Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google, facilitated by TA board member Ed Lazowska.
Other highlights included opening remarks by Governor Chris Gregoire; a presentation on the TA's most recent study of the economic impact of Washington’s technology-based industries; a celebration of Alliance of Angels' 10 years of investing in entrepreneurial excellence; and recognition of AoA’s 2008 Company of the Year, The Coffee Equipment Company.
View our photo gallery or watch the luncheon program online, courtesy of TVW.
2007 Luncheon
The 2007 luncheon featured a keynote conversation with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who was joined onstage by TA board member Ed Lazowska of University of Washington for an energetic and incisive conversation about the future direction of Microsoft and his perspectives on what Washington needs to do in order to cement its position as “the state of technology.”
Other highlights included a presentation on the College & Work Ready Agenda and announcement of the new William H. Gates, Sr. Fellowship in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, in honor of the TA’s founding chair. In addition, Alliance of Angels recognized Redfin for entrepreneurial excellence with its 2007 Company of the Year Award.
Listen to the keynote conversation with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: LISTEN/DOWNLOAD MP3 (16MB), or watch it online (TVW).
2006 Luncheon
At the 2006 luncheon, the Technology Alliance celebrated 10 years of forward thinking with a keynote conversation featuring Jeff Bezos, President, CEO and Chairman of Amazon.com, interviewed by TA board member Ed Lazowska. Audience members were treated to a candid discussion with Jeff about Amazon’s focus on innovations that transform the customer experience, along with a special presentation by William H. Gates, Sr., looking back at the origins of our state’s technology economy.
Other highlights included a retrospective of the TA’s accomplishments during our first and results of the TA’s latest comprehensive study benchmarking Washington’s performance in education, research and entrepreneurial climate. In addition, Pacific Bioscience Laboratories was honored with the Alliance of Angels Startup of the Year Award.
Listen to the podcast of the keynote conversation with Jeff Bezos.
Past Speakers
Previous luncheons featured keynote addresses by Google CEO Eric Schmidt; Intellectual Ventures Co-Founder Nathan Myhrvold; Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Alan Mulally; Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates; corporate strategist and best-selling author Geoffrey Moore; Western Wireless and T-Mobile Chairman John Stanton; and biotechnology pioneer Leroy Hood.