Contact:
Jessica Burda, 608-443-1952
jburda@greatermadisonchamber.com
IBM Director of Corporate Strategy Dr. Colin Harrison to be Keynote Speaker
Celebrating 58 years of the region’s top business event in 2010, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that the GMCC Annual Dinner will be held Thursday, October 7 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.
Following the record success of the 2010 GMCC Annual Business Expo held this past Tuesday at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall, the Chamber will welcome more than 1,000 members and guests in October for an evening of dynamic networking and building business connections at the area’s largest formal dinner.
Headlining the evening as keynote speaker, the GMCC is also pleased to welcome Dr. Colin Harrison, the director of IBM’s Corporate Strategy team and the inventor of the “Smart Cities” initiative based at the IBM Research Lab in Zurich, Switzerland.
Madison has long been famous as an intellectual and creative hub. But how smart are we really when compared to other cities around the world? Attendees to the GMCC 58th Annual Dinner will gain a new perspective from Dr. Harrison by which to assess and leverage all the city has going for it.
“It’s such a compliment to Madison that someone of Dr. Harrison’s stature has been cleared by IBM to come here just for this event,” said GMCC President Jennifer Alexander. “And as an innovative thinker of world-class standards, he’s a perfect intellectual match for our community.
“After his visionary ‘quality of life’ point of view on how greater Madison can be a globally competitive place to live, work, play and do business, I think we may never see ourselves the same way again.”
Dr. Harrison is a perfect match for the thought leaders of Wisconsin’s hub of creative and innovative energy. Honored in 2004 by IBM with the title of Master Inventor, his resume boasts pages of scientific breakthroughs, 40 published scientific articles, books and 27 patents.
For GMCC members and guests, Dr. Harrison will detail world-wide trends and what they mean for area businesses, educators, government leaders, health care providers, transportation officials, young knowledge workers and, in fact, all citizens.
Alexander recommends that GMCC members keep October 7 open to attend this year’s Annual Dinner. More information and tickets will be available later this summer through the GMCC’s website – http://www.greatermadisonchamber.com – and the GMCC’s weekly e-Bulletin to members.
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