Vibrant Gujarat in Silicon Valley

The U.S. India Business Council and Confederation of Indian Industries recently held a dinner meet to showcase Gujarat as a trade and manufacturing destination for U.S. companies.

Speakers at the event included San Francisco India Consul General N. Parthasarathi and a visiting delegation from India headed by guest speaker Atanu Chakraborty, an IAS officer and managing director of Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited.

The event was in support of the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015, as an exclusive delegation from the government of Gujarat and the leaders of Gujarat’s business community visited the San Francisco Bay Area.

Attendees were able to understand Gujarat as an investment destination and the future of Gujarat’s economic success as a key state in India’s continued economic development. This roadshow allowed for a company to discuss points of priority for the relationship in the industry they practice.

The Palo Alto, Calif., meeting was hosted by Dianne Farrell, acting president of USIBC.

The event was the second in a series of events, the first one was held in Los Angeles. Asked whether the conference was going well for him, Amit Prashant from IIT Gandhinagar said, “The event was beyond my expectation.”

USIBC has been working for over 38 years, since the late 70s. The trade between U.S. and India is almost at $100 billion pointed Daine Farrell in her introductory remarks.

Consul General Parthasarathi also made some interesting conversation. He said India has 811 million registered voters out of which 554 million people actually voted in this year’s general elections. The entire election process took about six weeks, and yet the results were out on the day of counting in about two hours.

He went on to say that it was a great time for growth after 2-3 years of stagnant policy making.

Atanu Chakraborty spoke next and added to the consul general’s speech. He also spoke at length on industry and policy specific queries, ideas and plans of the Gujarat government and the various infrastructure development programs that the government has already undertaken, adding that there was room for more and that companies from the world over should consider Gujarat, and India, as their destination of choice for setting up manufacturing plants and technology centers.

The Q&A session had some interesting questions like one on intellectual property, what the government was doing to protect companies when their employee shared confidential information outside. Another question was on Coalgate effect.

An attendee also pointed out the benefit of setting up an IT business in Gujarat, saying that he started in Gujarat with two engineers and in a few years the company grew to 1,200 out of which 1,000 engineers were still working in Gujarat. He said Gujarat has a very low attrition rate.

FTC Questions Zillow, Trulia

Zillow, Inc. and Trulia, Inc. announced that they each received a Request for Additional Information, or a "second request," from the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with the FTC's review of Zillow's proposed acquisition of Trulia under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the Act). This second request from the FTC is a standard part of the full regulatory process.

The transaction, which was announced July 28, is subject to approval of both companies' stockholders and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, including expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Act. The effect of the second request is to extend the waiting period imposed by the Act until 30 days after Zillow and Trulia have substantially complied with the second request, unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. The companies are gathering information to respond promptly to the second request and are cooperating with the FTC in connection with its review. Both companies expect the transaction to close in 2015.

Zillow operates the leading real estate and home-related information marketplaces on mobile and the Web.

Trulia gives home buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals all the tools and valuable information they need to be successful in the home search process.

Realty Income Announces COO

Realty Income Corporation announced the appointment of Sumit Roy as chief operating officer effective October 1, 2014. Roy will continue to maintain his responsibilities as chief investment officer.

Gary M. Malino will step down as president and COO effective Oct. 1. John P. Case, CEO and director, will reassume the title of president.

Commenting on the change in management, Case said, “Sumit has continued to play a broad role within the organization and has positively impacted our company during its most notable growth phase. I have had the pleasure of working with Sumit in a variety of professional settings for much of the last decade. His outstanding management ability and innovative approach will continue to benefit our company. The expansion of his responsibilities is well-deserved and I am looking forward to working with him in his additional capacity as COO.”

Realty Income is The Monthly Dividend Company, a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. As of Aug. 31, the company had paid 529 consecutive monthly dividends throughout its 45-year operating history. The monthly income is supported by the cash flows from over 4,200 properties owned under long-term lease agreements with 228 leading regional and national commercial tenants. The company is an active buyer of net-leased properties nationwide.

First 'Tech Superwomen Summit'

Organizers of the Tech Superwomen Summit announced it is holding its inaugural Tech Superwomen Summit (TSWS) on Jan. 29, 2015 in San Francisco at the Mission Bay Conference Center. The TSWS is committed to helping uncover the forces that are hindering women's mobility in the tech workplace and offering a venue for discussing ways to overcome these challenges.

“This event will synthesize the mood of the country on tech, diversity and inclusion as well as articulate the need for a better, sharper dialogue that combines culture and data toward a better path forward,” said Cathryn Posey, Tech Superwomen founder. “The Tech Superwomen Summit will bring together influential women and men in technology, executives and leaders, as well as students and young professionals for a breakthrough inaugural event that is all about creating positive change.”

According to several recent studies, Posey says only three percent of tech startups are led by women; only nine percent of CIOs are female (and this number has actually decreased over the past two years); and, 56 percent of women leave technical jobs by mid-career – an attrition rate that is double that of men's.

The Tech Superwomen Summit is a unique event that uses data as the starting point to explore the cultural underpinnings behind statistics – for a real look at the roadblocks that are driving inequity as well as roadmaps that are paving the way for a better future.

By augmenting existing studies with original research, the TSWS data visualization project will serve as a touchstone each year – documenting what's empowering as well as hindering women's mobility in the tech sector.

TSWS will offer attendees a stellar program line-up – comprised of top leaders (men and women) in their respective fields. There will be a number of provocative keynote presentations from well-known industry and political leaders, along with fireside chats and birds-of-a-feather conversations with some of the most influential women and men in technology and science.

“It is a privilege to speak at TSWS,” said Fission Strategy CEO and Attentive.ly co-founder Cheryl Contee.

"Diversity in the tech world is core to what our industry is about," said Jez Humble, award winning author and VP at Chef.

Other speakers include: Code for America founder and executive director Jennifer Pahlka; Federal Election Commission vice chair Ann Ravel; Wealthing Institute CEO and founder Alicia Castillo Holley; Sovrn Holdings Inc. executive chair John Bastille; Juggernaut CEO Raina Kumar; Fortis Partners partner Sarah Kunst; and RelateIQ VP D.J. Patil. Advisors include Jawbone VP of Data Dr. Monica Rogati.

For more information or to register, visit (www.techsuperwomensummit.com).