Whether you are an entrepreneur, investor or just interested in venture capital investment in New Mexico, expect a lively discussion of 2010 investment trends, the impact of the global, national and local economy on New Mexico venture investment, and the 2011 outlook for VC activity in our state.

Date: Thursday, October 21, 2010
Time: 6-8 pm
Venue: Eldorado Hotel & Spa, 309 W. San Francisco St, Santa Fe, NM
Directions: Map
Cost: $22.50 in advance (credit card payments); $25 at the door (cash and check only).

Economists Arnold Baker of Sandia and Larry Waldman of the UNM BBER will share their insights and a local perspective on the trends that will influence the New Mexico, U.S. and global economies.

Date: Thursday, January 21
Time: 6 – 8 pm (Networking & hors d’oeuvres followed by presentation)
Venue: Prairie Star, 288 Prairie Star Rd, Bernalillo, NM
Directions: Google Map
Cost: $20 in advance (credit card payments); $25 at the door (cash and check only)

Featured Speakers

Dr. Arnold Baker, Chief Economist, Sandia National Laboratories
Arnold B. Baker is the Chief Economist of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a Deputy to the Senior Vice President and Deputy Laboratories Director for Integrated Technologies and Systems, and serves as principle political economic advisor. He is a Past President (2005) of the International Association for Energy Economics and former President of the United States Association (2002). He holds a BA in History and MA and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Prior to joining SNL in 1996 he served for 17 years at Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), holding a number of challenging positions including Director of Political Economic Analysis, Director of Public Issues, Director of Energy Market Analysis, and Manager of Strategic Planning (ARCO Oil and Gas Company). His assignments included market analysis and scenario based planning, as well as chairing internal planning studies on the future of the oil, natural gas, coal and electricity industries. Prior to joining ARCO he served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Special Assistant to the Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, and as a staff economist at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. He has written book chapters and articles on energy, economic policy and global change.

Dr. Larry Waldman, Senior Research Scientist, UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER)
Larry has been with BBER since 1988, where he has spent most of his time managing the FOR-UNM Economic Forecasting Service. He produces an economic forecast of the New Mexico economy each quarter, which is distributed to clients of the service. He also publishes an economic forecasting newsletter, The FOR-UNM Bulletin, which is available to the public on a subscription basis.

Larry writes four or five articles annually relating to the New Mexico economy for publication in New Mexico Business, Current Economic Report, the BBER monthly economic update newsletter. In addition, he also writes press releases, does numerous interviews for radio and TV, and makes a dozen or so personal appearances each year, explaining recent developments in and the outlook for the New Mexico economy, to professional, civic, and governmental audiences.

We look forward to seeing you at this interesting event that launches CVF’s 2010 program calendar..

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009
Time: 6 – 8 pm

Location: Hotel Santa Fe
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Google Map Link

Event Details

• 6:00 – 6:30 pm: Hors d’oeuvres & Networking
• 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Presentation

About the Speakers

John Chavez, President of New Mexico Angels

John J. Chavez is the President of Tafoya and Brainerd Partners LLC, a nationwide business development consulting firm. Mr. Chavez is also the Vice President Business Development at Financial Management Systems, a Chicago based financial services firm. Mr. Chavez has been an active angel investor since 2003. Prior to creating Tafoya and Brainerd Partners LLC, Mr. Chavez was appointed by New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson as the Cabinet Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department. Mr. Chavez served as Cabinet Secretary for six years and as the President of the Federation of Taxation Administrators for one year.

Mr. Chavez is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Squash Blossom Classic – an organization that organizes a yearly adventure sport event in McKinley County.

Mr. Chavez received the following degrees from New Mexico State University.

• Master of Business Administration
• Bachelor of Art in Economics
• Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance

Gavin Christensen, Principal at vSpring Capital

Gavin heads vSpring’s New Mexico office where he is focused on funding companies in New Mexico’s technology-rich ecosystem.

Gavin joined vSpring as an associate in 2003, left in 2005 to attend the Kellogg School of Management, and in 2007 he rejoined vSpring as a Principal. Gavin’s efforts have had a significant impact on vSpring’s firm strategy and on the success of many of vSpring’s Fund I and II companies. During business school, Gavin worked as a Vertical Strategy Associate for Google’s direct sales organization. From 2000 to 2003, Gavin worked as a consultant in Monitor Group’s Boston office where he advised clients on a range of strategic, operational, and organizational improvements. Gavin began his career at Fidelity Investments as an investments representative.

Gavin is active in the New Mexico community: fostering entrepreneurship, education, and promoting the state. He is also active with his alma mater, Northwestern. He recently led an effort to create an experiential learning curriculum focused on venture capital and entrepreneurship. Gavin received a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. in Economics (with Honors), cum laude, from Brigham Young University. Gavin currently serves on the boards Intelisum and Symbiot.

Lee Rand, Partner at Sun Mountain Capital
Mr. Rand has over 15 years experience starting and managing technology businesses at both startups and large corporations. Prior to joining Sun Mountain, Mr. Rand founded Knogee a semantic search company, ran business development for Intel’s consumer electronics group, launched and managed the product marketing and standards team for Intel’s blade based server initiatives and led product management at semiconductor start-up Netboost which was acquired by Intel in 1999. Mr. Rand also has extensive business consulting experience having worked at Ernst and Young early in his career and more recently as an independent consultant brought in by investors and the board to work with start-ups on strategy and operations.

Mr. Rand has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a dual BA in computer science and mathematics from Cornell University.

Co-Hosted with:

Recruiting top-drawer employees doesn’t stop just because hiring slows or freezes. The recession, however bad, isn’t permanent, and forward-looking executives realize that the most ambitious and productive workers—the ones they hope to attract—remain alert to opportunities from companies that market themselves vigorously and confidently no matter what the economic climate.

The following are some trends that will affect hiring as the economy rebounds:

1. Don’t expect the best candidates to accept a smaller salary in return for additional stock options. Given the stock market’s performance over the past year, most employees would rather have a dependable source of income than gamble on stock options that might prove worthless. They also value their personal time and will likely negotiate for more vacation.
2. The Internet has made it possible for job seekers to be more connected than ever through social- and professional-networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and various blogs. It’s also offered ways for job hunters to dig up all sorts of information about companies that interest them. An employer can use this as a qualifying tool: Given all the information that’s available online and elsewhere about most businesses, a candidate has no excuse for coming ill-prepared to an interview.
3. Workers today expect more from their jobs than a steady paycheck and opportunities for advancement based on a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the company; they also want to feel that they matter personally to their employers. Knowing this, a savvy recruiter will craft job descriptions that define goals instead of listing tasks.
4. Employers might be wary of people who drift from company to company, but they’re becoming more common than workers who spend many years or a whole career at one company. Rather than dismissing a job hopper outright, a wise recruiter will determine what the candidate is looking for that his or her company could provide—an opportunity that breeds long-term commitment.
5. In today’s sluggish housing market, many prospective job seekers are willing to stick it out in an unsatisfactory job when the alternative is to sell their house at a loss for a slightly better job in another city. It’s the employer’s responsibility to demonstrate why the opportunity he or she offers is too good to pass up—and even to sweeten the deal to decrease the employee’s risk and make the offer more compelling.

Businesses that continue to actively recruit, even in a sluggish economic climate, are the ones that are more likely to benefit from the rewards provided by a workforce made up of people who genuinely enjoy their jobs.

Meet leadership in emerging innovation, global trends and opportunities across the new energy spectrum.

GLOBAL NEW ENERGY SUMMIT
March 22 – 24, 2009
Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Honorary Chairman: Senator Pete Domenici

Partial Speaker List:
Geoffrey West – President and Distinguished Professor, Santa Fe Institute
Tom Hunter – President and Labs Director, Sandia National Laboratories
Anup Jacob – Founding Partner, Virgin Green Fund
Ambassador C. Paul Robinson – Principal, Advanced Reactor Concepts; Former Director, Sandia National Laboratories
Hong Hou – CEO, Emcore
Dan Fine – Director, Energy Policy Institute
Robert Peterman – Senior Manager, Global Clean Technology, Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange
Arnold Leitner – President & CEO, SkyFuel

In addition, distinguished panelists from Los Alamos National Laboratory will be discussing emerging technologies in Alternative Energy.

Read more details here. Use code “spon20″ to save 20% on your registration fee. (The discount does not apply to government rate.)