Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf to Speak at CED’s Venture 2009

Research Triangle Park, NC, March 12, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Joan Siefert Rose, president of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) (www.cednc.org), a private, nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurial efforts in the Triangle region of North Carolina, has announced the keynote speakers for the Venture 2009 conference, scheduled for Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 at the Pinehurst Resort, located at 1 Carolina Vista Drive in Pinehurst, N.C. Venture 2009, CED’s 26th annual financing conference, will unite high-growth companies with entrepreneurial leaders in order to create business opportunities across the Southeast.

Keynote speakers include:
· John Stumpf, president and CEO of Wells Fargo & Company: This will be one of the first opportunities for Stumpf, named CEO of Wells Fargo in June 2007, to discuss the impact of the company’s recent merger with Wachovia in North Carolina.
· John Denniston, partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers: Denniston, who conceptualized Kleiner Perkins’ revolutionary greentech investment initiative, will discuss his efforts to promote greentech and emphasize the need for new technologies in light of the recently-passed federal economic stimulus package.
· The Honorable Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina: Bowles, a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, will address the connection between the University of North Carolina system’s research efforts and opportunities for entrepreneurship in the state.
· The Honorable Janet Cowell, N.C. State Treasurer: Cowell, a business investment expert and former state senator, will highlight the state’s 2009 investment plans amidst the economic recession and discuss opportunities for investment with the state.

CED has released a podcast with Venture 2009 selection committee chair Steve Nelson, managing partner of venture capital firm Wakefield Group, discussing the upcoming conference. In the podcast, Nelson talks about the event’s attractions, speakers and history. The podcast is available for download at www.mmimarketing.com/podcast/ced-releases-podcast-on-venture-2009.

For a full list of presenters and speakers, visit www.cednc.org/content/ced%27s+venture+conference/321.

“We look forward to having several excellent keynote speakers at CED’s Venture 2009 conference,” said Rose. “They are sure to provide a great deal of insight into making smart investment choices in our area during this tough economic time.”

“This is the big event of the year in our part of the world, [and] you can argue that it’s the biggest event in the Southeast,” said Nelson. “This is the one time of the year where all the great companies, all the great innovators, all the best ideas and brightest minds get together. It’s a ‘must-attend’ event.”

About the Council for Entrepreneurial Development:
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high-growth, high-impact companies and accelerate the region’s entrepreneurial culture. Headquartered in the Research Triangle Park, CED is the oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 5,500 active members. CED provides know-how, networking, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, programs and web-based resources. CED has helped entrepreneurs, investors, service partners, researchers and public policy makers in diverse emerging industries and at all stages of development – from high-tech, production-based organizations to service companies, from one-person start-ups to 1000-person businesses. Visit www.cednc.org for more information.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

###