July 17, 2001. Source: PR Newswire

Technology Forum of South Florida Bestows e-Leadership Award At

Ceremony Attended by Florida Governor Bush

Governor Jeb Bush today joined Traver Gruen-Kennedy, president of the Technology Forum of South Florida, at a ceremony here in which Chile's President Ricardo Lagos Escobar became the first recipient of the Forum's e-Leadership Award. The Award is given to individuals and organizations that demonstrate leadership impacting business and technology development on South Florida's "Internet Coast."

The backdrop for the presentation was the Bush-led "Team Florida" trade mission to Chile and Argentina, July 14-21, in which 200 Florida businesspeople and state and local government officials participated.

President Lagos was cited for his commitment and dedication to building Chile's high-tech infrastructure and fostering business and technical ties with South Florida. In presenting the e-Leadership award, the Tech Forum's Gruen-Kennedy called President Lagos "Chile's e-President," noting Chile's emergence as the region's information technology leader during his term in office.

"Chile has become Latin America's leader in telecommunications infrastructure with more lines and fiber than any other country in South America," Mr. Gruen-Kennedy said. "In 2001, Chilean application service provider (ASP) IntraLatina began hosting a set of applications for issuing government permits across 20 agencies and departments. In its pilot phase, the system adds capabilities that save time and money both for the government and the public.

"This is an entirely new model." Mr. Gruen-Kennedy said. "Beyond cost reduction and technical capabilities, this level of transparency and access has never been available previously. It simply never could have happened without the leadership of an e-President."

During the past year, Gruen-Kennedy, chief strategist and vice president at Citrix Systems, Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, has been working with Chilean technology leaders to enhance the working relationship, infrastructure and service offerings made possible through close cooperation.

"The growth of infrastructure and applications hosting in Chile has given Chile its own Internet Coast and expanded business and technical cooperation between Chile and South Florida," Gruen-Kennedy added. "By providing his leadership, President Lagos effectively challenged the technology sectors in Chile and Florida, creating momentum in technical development and investments."

About the e-leadership Award

The e-Leadership Award was created by the TFSF to recognize important contributions to the region's growth as a center of technology business and education. TFSF e-Leaders come from the private and public sectors of academia, government, business and non-profits. Nominees and winners distinguish themselves locally, nationally and around the world. Key characteristics shared by award winners include strength of vision and the perseverance to successfully contribute as an agent of positive change.

The Technology Forum of South Florida is a non-profit organization dedicated to the growth and development of the technology industry in Miami- Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Founded in 1997 by Margaret Grisdela, the Technology Forum holds monthly strategic networking programs and publishes data on the South Florida technology community. For more information, visit the Forum's website at http://www.southfloridatech.org.