SUNNYVALE, CA Entrepreneurs Foundation will host its second Leadership Summit on November 15, 2005 at Synopsys in Sunnyvale. The Summit will provide an opportunity for Bay Area corporate leaders to discuss the importance of corporate citizenship in the Bay Area and the need for more business leaders to become community leaders. Speakers will highlight how they and their companies have developed community benefit initiatives and how these programs have been beneficial to their companies and employees. With the Bay Area lagging behind other communities in philanthropy and corporate community involvement, Entrepreneurs Foundation is staging this Summit to expand the dialogue around this issue, raise awareness about how and why companies should be supportive of our community, and inspire companies to take action.
“Globally and nationally, the spotlight has been placed upon corporations to not only deliver shareholder value but to also be good corporate citizens. Employees want to work for companies with solid ethics and values. In addition, customers are more likely to support companies through stock purchases or product sales if a company demonstrates a commitment to the community. Corporate citizenship is becoming a must do rather than a nice to do. The Entrepreneurs Foundation Leadership Summit offers corporate leaders an opportunity to share ideas and models for giving back so that every company can begin or enhance its corporate citizenship program” states Diane Solinger, executive director of the Entrepreneurs Foundation.
Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys, Inc., will be the presenting speaker at the event. Panelists include Julie Farris, founder of Scalix, Kevin Francis, CEO of CenterBeam and Jim Steele, president of Salesforce.com. The event will be moderated by Alex Vieux of Red Herring. Presenting sponsors of the event include Synopsys and Apax Partners. Gold sponsors include Cooley Godward, Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Taylor Winfield. Silver sponsors of the event include A&R Partners, BT Commercial, Korn Ferry International and Mayfield.
“Active community involvement has long been a part of Synopsys’ culture worldwide. It’s an excellent way to highlight and help address local and global issues, to foster pride in employees, and to positively connect companies with communities,” said Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys, Inc. “As company leaders, employees, and community members, we all have a stake in the vitality of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. By offering practical support and ideas, the Entrepreneurs Foundation helps member companies explore effective ways to create positive change in the communities in which we live and work.”
The Entrepreneurs Foundation Leadership Summit is open to CEOs, Presidents, Founders, Chairmen and VCs of Bay Area headquartered companies. For more information on the Leadership Summit, please contact Dipti Pratt at dpratt@efbayarea.org or 408 616 4273.
About Entrepreneurs Foundation:
Founded in 1998 by Gib Myers of Mayfield, Entrepreneurs Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the Bay Area by bringing together entrepreneurial companies with the resources and programs they need to better serve their communities. Since inception, Entrepreneurs Foundation’s 100+ participating companies have provided time and resources that are making an impact in the community by: annually engaging 10,000 employees, partnering with 140 community organizations in the Bay Area. To date, EF and its participating companies have contributed more than $3.4 million to support the Bay Area community. Entrepreneurs Foundation is making a difference. For more information about Entrepreneurs Foundation, visit www.efbayarea.org.
