Governor Announces California as First State to Partner in CeBIT 2009

SECRETARY BONNER: Good morning, everyone, thank you for being here this morning. I'm Dale Bonner, Secretary of California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. I'm pleased to be here this morning. I wanted to start out first by thanking Intel for hosting us here this morning at this very fine facility. I also want to say a special thanks and a welcome to our friends who have traveled very far from Germany to celebrate this very important partnership for California and California businesses.

I'm very pleased to announce that we're joined here this morning by Walter Hirche, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economics, Labor and Transport for the federal state of Lower Saxony; Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of VITCOM; Ernst Raue, member of the board for the Deutche Messe; Art Paredes, president and CEO of Hannover Fairs USA; and Deborah Conrad, vice-president and general manager of Intel Corporation. I also want to acknowledge that we have with us the state's chief information officer, Teri Takai, who is with us this morning. And somewhere out here is Under Secretary Garret Ashley, who is with our agency, who has been very instrumental in bringing this partnership together.

So, on behalf of the state of California, I want to welcome you all and want you to know that we are very honored to have you with us here, because this is a great partnership that we're going to be announcing this morning.

I have the privilege of introducing a man who is a world leader and who has done a great deal to keep California at the forefront of technology and innovation and has done a great deal to foster our culture of innovation and kept us a global leader in the international economy. So I have the great privilege of introducing this morning our Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, let me see if I do a better job with pronouncing the names than you did. (Laughter) First of all, Secretary Dale Bonner, I want to thank you very much for your great leadership and for being such a great partner in moving the state of California forward. I want to thank you also for your nice introduction. I want to thank also our chief information officer, Teri Takai, for being here today and Deputy Prime Minister Walter Hirche -- that's the right pronunciation, remember that -- then Professor Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer. And Deborah Conrad with Intel, we want to thank them for having us here at this great, great company, at their headquarters. And then Ernst Raue with the Deutsche Messe, I want to thank him also for being here today. And there are many others here, of course; thank you all for being here.

Today I'm very proud to announce some exciting news that highlights California's leadership and also leadership in technology and in innovation. California has been chosen as the official partner state in the 2009 CeBIT Conference to be held next March in Germany.

Now, just to make people in California understand what the CeBIT Conference is, it's the world's largest technology-trade expo and it is the hugest and the most important one, I think, that we have. It has 500,000 attendees from 100 different countries, just to show you how big this really is -- 5,900 exhibits and 7,000 press and media representatives are there.

This is, of course, a great honor. It's the first time that a state has been chosen. Normally, it's countries that are chosen to partner, countries like France, Russia, India, or the United States. What an incredible honor for us and for our high-tech industry and for our green tech industry.

But, as we all know, California is not just another state. I have always said that we are like a nation-state. We have the world's eighth largest economy with the muscles to influence and to lead in so many areas, such as technology. California has had nearly $50 billion in high-tech exports just last year alone and that is more than any other state in the union. We are the top U.S. exporter of computers and semiconductors and nearly half of all venture capital in the nation comes right here to California.

We are thriving and we are thriving not only because of the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs and businesses but also because of smart policy to unleash and encourage that ingenuity, like our landmark Global Warming Law -- AB 32, as it's known in California -- where we made a commitment to roll back our greenhouse gas emissions to the 1990 level and an additional 80 percent by the year 2020. Or our Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is spurring a race for cleaner cars and alternative fuel. Or our $3 billion investment in stem cell research through Proposition 71, which is attracting the best and the brightest scientists from around the world to come here to California and do their research right here. Or our renewable energy standards, a big reason California accounts for more than 40 percent of America's new patents in solar and in wind technology.

As a partner state, dozens of California companies will be showcased front and center, helping to expand our markets and boost our exports and pump up our economy. And we are very pleased that the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is a long-time supporter of the international conference in Germany, has committed financial aid to small companies and businesses in California that will be participating in Germany for the first time.

I want California to be number one in everything that can make our state and our country stronger, whether it is green technology, biotech or high-tech or nanotech, the list goes on and on. California is leading the way and next year's conference is a terrific opportunity for California to cerate more revenues, to create more jobs and to show the world how it is done.

So thank you very much again and now I would like to have the Minister of Economics and Labor and Transport -- and the list goes on and on (Laughter) -- to come out here. Walter Hirche, please if you'd come out and say a few words? Thank you. (Applause)

WALTER HIRCHE: Thank you, Governor, ladies and gentlemen. The aim of politicians is to create win/win situations and so we try to create such a win/win situation. California is the cradle and the frontrunner of the ICT technology and Hannover CeBIT is the marketplace in the world for ICT, so we are very happy that this joins together in March next year. And we are very happy that California accepted the invitation to show the American side of this part of the world economy and also to make, I would add, a political point in the discussion in the world on climate questions, on the use and the need of IT technology for solving open questions in the world.

And that's the aim of CeBIT, not only to show products, to show software but to present solutions for problems which are throughout the world. And I think this may be a showcase for California to demonstrate its leading role in the world in this sector and so, Governor, we are proud that you accepted this invitation. We hope very much that you will be the next in the role of the presidents and state governors which are in Hannover to open, together with our Chancellor Angela Macher, this big fair next year. And so we are pleased that we come together to research, to look for new solutions for the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, this fair lives from the industry in California, in Germany and throughout the world, so it is an honor for me now to announce the next speaker, Professor Scheer. Professor Scheer is the president of VITCOM, Germany's association for information technology, telecommunications and new media. And by the way, he's a prominent figure in the ICT industry in Germany, a very successful entrepreneur and is the founding chairman and chief of technology advisor of the internationally renowned company, IDS Scheer. Thank you very much. (Applause)

DR. SCHEER: On behalf of the German ICT industry I want to express my enthusiasm about this collaboration between the most successful ICT fair and the most successful area in the world in the ICT technology. And I think, as was already mentioned, it's a win/win situation and so it's not very innovative to combine the most successful things together; I think it's a must. We can learn from each other, we can support each other. We, in Germany, can learn from the entrepreneurial spirit in this area, the network between world-class universities, world-class companies, world-class -- nearly world-class -- financial organizations. (Laughter) Those all belong together.

We in Germany can offer to you, I think, a very highly qualified education in computer science. Our young people are also very committed. They are a very strong user of your technology, not only the iPod, also the other things around it, software also in their businesses.

We have also a very strong research infrastructure. Conrad Zuse was one of the inventors of the computer. He did it in 1936, I think. Also, the MP3 format was invented in Germany by the research lab of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. This is a huge research organization outside of our universities.

We offer the companies here in California in the ICT sector in most cases the second important marketplace. We have revenues of more than $200 billion U.S. a year in our industry, so we are very important for your companies.

So just to summarize, we are very looking forward to seeing you as journalists, as companies, as researchers, at the CeBIT. The CeBIT is also a meeting point for exchanging new ideas, not just talking about business. Business is very important but it's not all. And so I also want to invite the Governor personally to come to Hannover but also to well-established companies and especially the young companies, the start-up companies, to open them to the European market, because Germany is in many cases the hub for the U.S. ICT companies to enter the European market.

Now I want to hand over to the next speaker. It is Deborah Conrad. Deborah Conrad is the vice president and general manager of the Corporate Marketing Group here at Intel. Ms. Conrad is responsible for (UI) management, product positioning, product launch management and marketing research, as well as sales and integrated marketing communications, advertising and promotional campaigns designed to reach consumer and business customers worldwide. (Applause)

DEBORAH CONRAD: Thank you very much. I didn't realize I had all those responsibilities. I'm actually here just to say thank you to our distinguished guests and to the Governor for joining us here today. CeBIT is a very important event for Intel. We've been a partner with this organization for well over 15 years. It is a great opportunity for Intel and other technology companies to showcase their solutions on a massive global scale and this is a very important opportunity for Intel to show its solutions to the rest of the world. It's also just an honor to have this distinguished community here today, because we are very proud Californians as well. And so we wanted to just say thank you for the opportunity. Our chairman, Dr. Barrett, will be part of the opening ceremonies in Munich -- I'm sorry, in Hannover. Sorry -- in March and we are very honored to have that position as well. It's a very big event for us, so we're very proud of that. Thank you. (Applause)

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:    You forgot to introduce the next speaker but I'll do it for you. (Laughter) It's Ernst Raue. Please. (Applause)

ERNST RAUE: Thank you very much. This is a real big honor for me, to be introduced by the Governor of California. So, we are here to invite all of you to CeBIT next year. It's a very, very good marketplace. It's the biggest marketplace for ICT and there are a lot of market opportunities for California ICT enterprises. And most of them are with us, over many years. CeBIT is now 20 years, more than 20 years old; it was formed in '86. And it's the best show you can see. We are producing 106 shows a year, at Deutsche Messe, all over the place, in Shanghai and all over the place. But CeBIT is the one, so you are invited to be part of this and you can make good profit out of this.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a privilege to be here and to be here in Intel and in California and in the Silicon Valley. This is, I think, the world's most innovation potential here in California. I think we see a lot of moving forward in Asian countries, China and Taiwan and other countries but this is the real innovation potential here. And for that reason we are able to win California as a partner country and we are here to see all of these nice new companies like YouTube, like Google and also the other ones like HP, Intel and so on. Here is the hub for ICT and we are happy, hopefully, to win Mr. Schwarzenegger, the Governor, to speak to us on March 2nd and Greg Barrett is there and so we like this. The partnership with California is going to make CeBIT very special, perhaps the most exciting show ever, I feel.

And the topics currently driving the companies' research institutes and so on are this year, in 2009 in the next show, green IT is one of the main topics for CeBIT next year. And the next topic, we named this web society, Webciety. We found a new word for that. These are the new companies coming together, bringing solutions via the web. It's not only the web between people, it's also the web between things. So this is about different new possibilities in industries and so on. And we are supported by the U.S.-based (UI) computing initiative and they brought up last year with green IT. And I got a lot of questions from our exhibitors. We have nearly 6,000 companies there and they called me and said, "Oh, this is very good idea, to bring up this green IT thing. We are thinking over next year we'll bring solutions for that."

And CeBIT is about solutions. When we started 20 years ago we talked about hardware. Then we talked about software, then about telecommunication. Now everything is together and people like to see the complete solutions there and I think there's a lot of potential for your companies. We are very happy to have VITCOM behind us, the European ICT industry is powering CeBIT, we are doing this together. We, as a trade fair company, would be not successful without VITCOM and therefore many thanks to (UI) he's a president of VITCOM. And yeah, we will do this together.

I will stop here. Everything that is said -- 7,000 journalists are there, it's a media event. If you are talking to the people there you have 1,800 people in the opening ceremony. They are owners of companies, they are head CEOs of companies. And the media and I think every word you will say will be spread out all over the world. Thank you for coming and hopefully we'll have a very good success this year, the best CeBIT ever. (Applause)

QUESTION/ANSWER:

GOVERNOR:           So, if there are any questions about any of this, we're all ready to answer the questions. Feel free. Yes?

QUESTION:             (Inaudible) Okay, once again. My name is Schwartz from the German newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. You have been asked to come to Hannover. Will you come?

GOVERNOR:           Well, first of all, let me just say that we feel very honored to now be a partner of this huge expo and I will do everything that I can to be there. So I'm actually looking forward to that, because it gives me a chance to go back to Germany, because I love Germany. And because of my job here, I've not been able to go back there for a few years. So I really miss going there, because that's where I started my career back between '66 and '68 as a bodybuilding champion. And I have still such fond memories of Germany, so I really miss going back there so I'm looking forward to that.

The only reason why I never can say 100 percent is because we sometimes have crazy things happening in this state like earthquakes and fires and stuff like that. And I remember that I was one time with Tony Blair in London where he showed me a green school, on how they build green schools. And in the middle of that visit I got a phone call that Lake Tahoe was on fire and 280 homes had burned and so on and so I had to rush to the airport from that school and fly back to California. So there's always unusual things that happen here that you can't predict.

So that's why I say it's not 100 percent but I will do everything in my power to be there and to be there at the opening. And I'm looking forward to that and to have all our California companies come there and display all their great inventions and so on.

QUESTION:             Governor?

GOVERNOR:           Yes?

QUESTION:             Governor, as you know, the House is voting on the bailout package today. Have you called any members of California's Congressional delegation to lobby them one way or the other on the bailout package and what have you said to them?

GOVERNOR:           We sent everyone a letter to stress how important it is for them to vote on that and to make sure not to keep talking about a bailout of Wall Street, because that's not what it is. It is really helping California and helping the American people, because it's ordinary folks that really hurt. And also out state. We are looking for a loan, or what they call a RAN, within the next month and under these circumstances right now it will be very difficult to get that $6 billion that we are looking for. So I think it really has an effect on everybody, not just on Wall Street.

Anyone else? Yes?

QUESTION:              Governor, we've been talking about the economic vitality of California, one reason for the partnership as well as the innovation. But given this economic climate, moving forward with or without Congressional action, how is California poised for future economic growth, especially given job losses, less spending for the holidays? How do you view our economic future moving forward?

GOVERNOR:           Well, I think that it's clear, not only California but the whole United States has to dial back now. I think that people are struggling. I think that companies, ordinary people, little businesses, small businesses, big businesses, everyone, has a problem getting loans now and so I think all of this has a big effect on the economy. Because in the end, when you can't get a loan and you're in a business, then you have to start laying off people. And I think that will happen also with the state. As we get deeper and deeper into this financial crisis, I think the more we will have to lay off people and I think that again has an effect.

So I think the important thing now is that Congress is not looking at this as a partisan kind of way, because I know elections are coming up and I know that makes it very complicated to vote for those kind of things. But it's important to look at it in an American way and to save America and for Congress to vote on this now so we can move forward and there is more liquidity there in the market than there is now. I think that's very important.

Anything else? Well, thank you. Anyone else?

QUESTION:              Governor, Silicon Valley here is saying if the bill doesn't pass it would have a catastrophic impact on the high-tech industry. Do you share that view?

GOVERNOR:           Well, I don't think when -- people have different interpretations also on what is catastrophic but I would say it has an effect. And we have heard 14 days ago that if this is not resolved in a week that it has a catastrophic effect. We haven't seen that. But I think that it is important that we pass that bill and I think it is a great deal for the taxpayers of America and I think that Democrats and Republicans must come together on this and not look at it in a political way but to look at it, what is best for America and represent everybody. So I think that's the key thing here.

QUESTION:              I'm very interested in hearing from some of our honored German guests as to how they are viewing this turmoil, this economic turmoil in the United States.

DR. SCHEER:          Well, I'm a little bit hesitating because it's never good, if you are abroad, to judge on the country in which we are. But generally speaking, I think there should be a decision there and not a pending process as we had in the last days.

I don't know the details which were discussed between the parties and those involved but I think there is an effect of all that is done in the U.S. on the whole world economy and I have the same judgment as the Governor said. There are effects. They are very different in different countries but at the end we have a world economy and all is linked together.

And so, because the United States is such an important power economically, technologically and so on, I think it's good that there have been discussions after the first failure in the Congress to look for a new arrangement. And I would be hopeful that this comes in whatsoever details, it is necessary to live with the decision.

GOVERNOR:            Thank you very much.

ERNST RAUE:         Just let me add one sentence. We have just, in Germany, increased our forecast for our industry. So that means that we think that our industry, the ICT industry, will be not very much affected by this financial crisis.

GOVERNOR:            Thank you very much.

QUESTION:             Governor?

GOVERNOR:           Yes?

QUESTION:               You said you sent letter to members of the delegation. Are you planning to go beyond that, particularly with people who voted no last time, in order to get feedback from hem along in voting yes?

GOVERNOR:           Well, like I said, we sent letter to each one of the Congressional delegation. And the vote, I think, is today or tomorrow, so I think -- hopefully, that will help. And everyone now says that it most likely will pass, so I think the letter was just to let them know.

Because to me, what was wrong right from the beginning was the way it was marketed. I mean, you can't talk about a Wall Street bailout. No one in America is interested in bailing out Wall Street (Laughter) because those are the guys that are making the billions of dollars. So who is going to help that? But if you go and explain to people this is going to be a bailout for the ordinary citizens and for businesses, small and large, for everyone, the economy and everyone will be affected all the way down to Main Street, not Wall Street, that is then a different ball game.

So I don't know why those very experienced people in Washington that are so smart will go and sell it the wrong way to the people of America. I don't understand that. And I think that no matter what you talk about, it it's art, or if it is a sport, or if it is a product, or if it high tech, or if it's policy, you've got to sell it the right way. You can have the best idea in the world but if you don't know how to market it and sell it you have nothing. And I think they all should take Marketing 101, go back to school, so we can start all over again with this whole thing.

Anyway, thank you very much, all, for being here today. Thank you. (Applause)