Tech Forum on April 5 to Highlight Importance of Massachusetts IT Industry, Opportunities for Dramatic Job Growth in the Next Decade

FRANKLIN, Mass., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- State government officials and information technology executives will participate Monday (April 5) in a public forum that seeks to determine how the information technology can be a catalyst for growing the economy and jobs in Massachusetts. The event will be hosted by Karen E. Spilka, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies.

Given new opportunities for growth in the IT industry, the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, the state's largest tech business association, has just unveiled its MassTLC 2020 Challenge, a call for the state and the industry to work together to create 100,000 new IT jobs in Massachusetts by the end of the decade. The forum will bring together IT leaders in government, education and business to discuss this challenge and other opportunities for the Commonwealth.

Note to reporters, photographers and video crews: -- Interviews available with principals. -- Visuals will include students in the Robotics program at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School in Franklin, who will demonstrate their projects. WHEN: Monday, April 5, 10:30 a.m. WHERE: EMC, 50 Constitution Boulevard, Franklin WHO: Sen. Karen E. Spilka and other members of the Massachusetts Legislature Paul Matthews, executive director, 495/Metrowest Partnership Jay Ganson, manager, business development and environmental Affairs, Ambient Corp. Steve Krom, VP and general manager, AT&T Mohamad Ali, senior vice president, Avaya Mark Weinegger, president, CE Communications, Franklin Stuart Taylor, director, North American Mobile Segment, Cisco Systems Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder, CSN Stores Chris Goode, vice president, EMC Sean Belka, SVP and director, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology Bill Sawyer, vice president, IBM Colin Angle, CEO, chairman and co-founder, IRobot Pat Larkin, director, John Adams Innovation Institute Joyce Plotkin, president emeritus, Mass Technology Leadership Council Tom Hopcroft, CEO and president, Mass Technology Leadership Council JD Chesloff, vice president, Mass. Business Roundtable Bonnie Biocchi, president, MetroWest Chamber Kiki Mills, president, MITX Bill Luster, president, North Shore Economic Alliance Ted Morgan, CEO, Skyhook Wireless Lynn Griesemer, associate vice president for economic development and executive director, UMass Donahue Institute Donna Cupelo, region president, Verizon Roberta Schaefer, president and CEO, Worcester Research Bureau

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CONTACT: Sarah Blodgett for Sen. Karen Spilka, [phone]; or Phil
Santoro, Verizon, [phone]; or Mark Horan, Mass. Technology Leadership
Council, [phone], Ext. 2

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