Wisconsin Business Council: Top state business decision-makers, elected officials and university leaders meet to assess new approaches to keeping and growing businesses in Wisconsin

Contact: Brian Taffora

Executive Director, Wisconsin Business Council

Office: (608) 252-9245, Mobile: (262) 689-3538

Taffora@wibusiness.org

Attendees to hear from business leaders who have made the tough decisions about staying or leaving and seek new strategies to encourage job creation

MADISON – Wisconsin’s top elected officials and university leaders will be joined by the CEOs of many prominent state businesses at a daylong conference on the UW–Madison campus sponsored by the Wisconsin Business Council in partnership with the Wisconsin School of Business.

The conference, to be held Thursday at Grainger Hall, will focus on the experiences of business owners and decision-makers and attempt to identify what more could be done to keep existing businesses, encourage economic growth and attract new jobs.

Gov. Jim Doyle and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen will be joined by UW–Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, former UW System President Katharine Lyall and business leaders including Scott VanderSanden, president and CEO, AT&T Wisconsin; Neal Verfuerth, CEO, Orion Energy Systems; Tim Sheehy, president, Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce; Paul Carbone, director of the private equity group for Robert W. Baird & Co.; and former Department of Administration Secretaries James R. Klauser, recently retired as a senior vice president of We Energies and Marc Marotta, a partner at the Foley & Lardner law firm.

Members of the Wisconsin Business Council are dedicated to working with fellow citizens, elected officials and policy-makers to implement a pro-business climate that enhances the state’s quality of life and the prospects for sustainable economic growth. The conference will focus on four specific aspects of the business experience in Wisconsin, including:

* Financing business start-ups and growth in Wisconsin;

* The challenges of locating or expanding a business in Wisconsin;

* Focal points for growth including cluster industries and second stage capital; and

* Policy opportunities related to these areas.

Members of the news media are invited to attend and coverage is welcomed. For more information or to schedule advance interviews with presenters, contact Jennifer Sereno, Wood Communications Group, at (608) 770-8084.

WHAT: A daylong conference on economic development sponsored by Wisconsin Business Council in partnership with Wisconsin School of Business

DETAILS: Thursday, Nov. 5 from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Plenary Room, 1310 Grainger Hall on the UW–Madison campus.

Founded earlier this year, the Wisconsin Business Council seeks to energize Wisconsin’s commitment to economic development by pursuing a comprehensive strategy that includes recruiting new companies, empowering entrepreneurs and supporting existing businesses. Founding members of the Wisconsin Business Council include: American Transmission Co.; Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield; AT&T Wisconsin; Commerce State Bank; Midwest Natural Gas; MillerCoors: Orion Energy Systems; and Park Bank.