The Council on Competitiveness, a national organization of business, academic and labor leaders, will host the National Innovation Summit on December 15, 2004.

At the summit, the co-chairs of the Council's National Innovation Initiative (NII), Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM Corporation, and G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, will present "Innovate America: Thriving in a World of Challenge and Change," the result of a 15-month, comprehensive effort to sharpen our understanding of innovation and harness it for economic growth.

Over 20 prominent CEOs, university presidents and civic leaders will then outline a series of strategic recommendations to make America the most fertile and attractive environment for innovation.

When: December 15, 2004 at 8:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Where: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. The NII report findings will be presented at 8:15 A.M. EST, prior to the opening of the White House Economic Summit held at the same location. A live webcast of the event will be available at http://www.gatech.edu/nii.

Who: Prominent names in American business, labor, education and governance including:

· Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
· Virginia Governor Mark Warner
· Samuel J. Palmisano, Chairman, President and CEO, IBM Corporation
· G. Wayne Clough, President, Georgia Institute of Technology
· F. Duane Ackerman, BellSouth Corporation and Chairman of the Council on Competitiveness
· Gerard J. Arpey, Chairman, President and CEO, American Airlines
· Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University
· Molly Corbett Broad, President, University of North Carolina
· Michael J. Burns, Chairman, CEO and President, Dana Corporation
· Mary Sue Coleman, President, University of Michigan
· Denis A. Cortese, President and CEO, Mayo Clinic
· Robert M. Gates, President, Texas A & M University
· Sheryl Handler, President and CEO, Ab Initio
· John L. Hennessy, President, Stanford University
· Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
· Vikram Pandit, President and Chief Operating Officer Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group, Morgan Stanley
· Steven S. Reinemund, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.
· W.J. Sanders III, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc
· Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon
· Kevin W. Sharer, Chairman, President and CEO, Amgen, Inc.
· Charles M. Vest, President Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
· G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., Chairman and CEO, General Motors Corporation
· Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness

RSVP: All media interested in attending should RSVP to NIISummit@compete.org. Press credentials required for admittance.

About The Council on Competitiveness
An organization of the top business, university and labor leaders in the United States, the Council on Competitiveness is responsible for influencing the course of American competitiveness on regional, national and global scales. The Council stands unique in its ability to anticipate and respond to changing economic conditions through a series of comprehensive programs to maintain competitiveness and security, support innovation, benchmark national competitiveness and shape public policy. The Council is available on the Web at http://www.compete.org.

Contact:
Thomas Ford
Racepoint Group
781-487-4607
tford@racepointgroup.com

Bill Booher
Council on Competitiveness
202-969-3385
bbooher@compete.org