The Houston Technology Center’s Emerging Technology Council Installs New Leadership 

Houston, Texas (October 14, 2008) – The Houston Technology Center’s (HTC) Emerging Technology Council (ETC), which has been helping technology entrepreneurs connect to resources that enable success and growth since 2006, has a new leadership team headed by Chair Michael Garfield. Bill Arend, a regional manager with Oracle and a member of HTC’s Advisory Board, is assuming the position of vice chair. Oracle is the ETC’s founding sponsor.

Michael is known to millions of radio listeners and TV viewers around the region and country as The High-Tech Texan®. He has volunteered many hours to the HTC since its inception including workshops, media interviews and public service announcements on his weekly radio program on The 9-5-0, KPRC-AM.

“Both Michael and Bill are innovative leaders in the industry and as a leadership team are sure to accelerate the HTC’s and ETC’s shared vision of elevating Houston as a globally recognized center of technological innovation and commercialization,” said Walter Ulrich, HTC’s president and chief executive officer.

The ETC extends the reach of the HTC to all emerging technology companies and entrepreneurs in the ten-county region surrounding Houston. It consists of six committees, including Economic Development, Capital Connection, Partner Connection, Growth Connection/TechSmart.Fast, Marketing, and Ambassador/Membership. ETC’s management team will also feature an executive committee consisting of committee chairs and co-chairs to be assigned in the near future.

"The ETC continues to offer vital resources to spark new business ideas and growth in the tech sector," Michael said. "As an entrepreneur myself, I look forward to help leading this network of business leaders and volunteers to made ideas become reality."

“The ETC provides a slew of resources for those interested in tapping into Houston’s technology community,” Ulrich added. “With nearly 200 volunteers and an impressive new management team, up-and-coming technology companies will have many opportunities to take advantage of what this region has to offer to help grow their businesses.”

About the Houston Technology Center

Houston Technology Center (HTC), a non-profit 501(c)(3), is a business accelerator and the largest technology business incubator in Texas, supported by more than 300 corporations and organizations, Houston's leading academic institutions, Greater Houston Partnership, Texas Medical Center, NASA-Johnson Space Center, and the City of Houston.

Accelerating the commercialization of emerging technology companies by providing in-depth business guidance, access to capital and service providers, and entrepreneurial education, HTC has become the center of technology entrepreneurship, assisting more than 200 companies within several key sectors: Energy, Technology, Life Sciences, Nanotechnology, and NASA/Aerospace technologies.

HTC serves as the Gulf Coast Regional Center for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, providing funding for small to mid-size companies to expedite the commercialization of new technologies. For more information, visit www.houstontech.org.