LOS ANGELES, April 9, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- Southern California's international business community will have the opportunity to witness global strategy presentations from a select group of young technology companies at the third Global California Forum on April 29, 1999 at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Santa Monica. The forum presents five emerging technology companies to a diverse, international audience of resource providers, investors, strategic partners, and customers, in-person and globally via Web cast.
Networking begins at 6 p.m., with the presentations running from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. Networking resumes at 8 p.m. and will continue until 10 p.m. The Web cast from the September 1998 forum can be viewed at http://www.dsm.com by clicking on Global California Forum.
All presenting companies are pre-screened and mentored on the "globalization" process by a team of seasoned financial, legal, communications, economic development, and management consultants participating in the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance's new Global California Mentor Program (GCAMP). GCAMP offers selected technology companies a package of premier consulting services at no charge to assist them in developing a well-rounded global strategic plan. It also assists these companies in polishing and communicating their international strategies to potential partners, investors, partners and service providers who are key to their implementation and realization.
"Any company today must see itself as a global company", says Rohit Shukla, president and chief executive of LARTA. "Developing a clear yet flexible global strategy is the key to developing and maintaining a competitive edge. Through this forum and GCAMP, we assist companies in assembling the toolkit they need to take advantage of the global marketplace."
The presenting companies, and first graduates of LARTA's GCAMP program are:
* Goldmine Software, developer of software for automating workgroups, and solutions for managing customers (www.goldminesw.com)
* cFour Partners/ITP, an international retained executive search firm focused exclusively on high-technology, including the convergent technology and digital media industries (www.cfour.com)
* Perceptronics, conducts research and development, manufactures and markets computer-based simulation systems and software providing training and decision support for military and commercial users (www.perceptronics.com)
* Physical Research and Development, developing high speed electronics, specializing in wireless applications, and nondestructive inspection specializing in magneto-optic imaging (www.prirnd.com)
* Advanced Technology Labs, a testing lab for such entities as the EPA, the U.S. Navy and CalTrans (http://members.xoom.com/sistema/crl)
Founding sponsors and GCAMP mentors are:
* Grant Thornton LLP (http://www.grantthornton.com), one of the world's largest management and accounting organizations with more than 18,500 professionals located in 550 offices across 90 countries;
* Rodi Pollock Pettker Galbraith & Cahill, a Law Corporation, is a leading Los Angeles-based law firm and member of Eu-lex (http://www.eu-lex.com), an international network of law firms;
* Imperial Bank (http://www.imperialbank.com), a leading commercial bank specializing in international transactions involving emerging technology-based companies from California; and
* Southern California Edison (http://www.sce.com), a public-spirited utility committed to building capacity in Southern California.
GCAMP is a component of LARTA's Global Technology Partners program (http://www.gtpartners.com), which was co-developed by LARTA and Joseph Bovino & Associates (http://www.josephbovino.com), a consulting firm serving the development needs of the technology community worldwide.
LARTA's mission is to strengthen, inform, network and promote Southern California's technology community worldwide. A private nonprofit supported by both the state of California and private enterprise, LARTA assists technology-based companies enter and expand into new markets.
The Web cast is provided courtesy of Direct Stock Market (www.dsm.com), which provides investors, entrepreneurs and securities industry professionals with current, complete and immediate information about public and private offerings.
For more information or to RSVP, go to http://www.larta.org/gcamp.htm, or contact Julie Kibbler at (213) 743-4225, e-mail jkibbler@larta.org.