Press Releases

Governor's Summit on Capital 2002 Will Kick Off by Holding Four
Pre-event Workshops

(Madison) Four concurrent afternoon workshops on March 19, 2002, will lead off the Governor's Summit on Capital 2002. This year's Summit will be held in Milwaukee at the Midwest Express Center. The Summit will follow the workshops on Wednesday, March 20.

The goal of the conference is to promote capital investment in Wisconsin businesses to help expand and improve the state's economy. This year's event will put emphasis on regional and national perspectives. The 2002 Summit will also focus attention on increased participation by individual investors, progress made since last year's inaugural Summit, Wisconsin success stories, steps taken to increase the amount of capital available to Wisconsin businesses and ways to continue improving the state's capital networking infrastructure.

The Pre-Summit sessions will begin at 2:00 p.m. on March 19.

• Venture Capital Basics will focus on formation, legal structure, tax issues, securities issues, and related topics. Moderator Joseph Hildebrandt a partner at the law firm of Foley & Lardner will be joined by panelists Neil Lerner from the UW-Small Business Development Center and John Neis of Venture Investors Management, LLC.
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) will explore the many advantages of the nationwide grant program that supports entrepreneurial research and technology development. Cheryl Gain, director of technology at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, will team with session moderator Ann Eskesen, president of Innovation Development Institute of Massachusetts, to provide a blueprint on how to apply for the grants.
• Biotechnology-Wisconsin's New Frontier provides the latest in the development and operation of a successful biotechnology company. Co-moderators Jim Leonhart and Ron Kuehn, co-executive vice presidents at the Wisconsin Biotechnology Council, will join Dr. William Hendee, president at Medical College of Wisconsin, Frank Langley from Pel-Freez Clinical Systems, LLC and other panelists to explain how to protect intellectual property and to talk about initiatives in biotech research and investment.
• Milwaukee Briefing/Tour will spotlight the city's quality-of-life amenities that attract creative technical talent and successful technology clusters. Pat Walsh and Marcia Theusch from City of Milwaukee will host a bus tour of the city's existing and emerging technology clusters.

Attendance for the Pre-Summit sessions only, held on March 19, is available for a $75 fee. Registration for the Summit is $175 per person through March 4, 2002 and $200 per person after that date. The Summit registration fee includes admission to the Pre-Summit workshops as well as to all Summit activities on March 20, 2002. A registration form and additional information are available at: www.wdfi.org.