Dive Brief:
- This week president-elect Donald Trump is holding a tech summit with Larry Page (Alphabet CEO), Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO), Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), Chuck Robbins (Cisco CEO), Ginni Rometty (IBM CEO), Brian Krzanich (Intel CEO), Safra Catz (Oracle CEO) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder and CEO) according to reporting by Recode.
- Recode’s reporting indicated the guest list might not be complete, specifically pointing out that Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, would be a major tech player who is an obvious invite to the summit.
- Oracle CEO Safra Catz said in a statement, “I plan to tell the President-elect that we are with him and will help in any way we can. If he can reform the tax code, reduce regulation and negotiate better trade deals, the U.S. technology industry will be stronger and more competitive than ever.”
Dive Insight:
The U.S. tech industry is a major component of the country's economy and employs more than 6.7 million people. The strength of the industry also helps contribute to the country's reputation for being a center of innovation that attracts some of the smartest people from around the world.
Trump's attitude toward the tech industry is unclear so far. While the president-elect is an avid social media user, he has also appears to be taking a tough stance on keeping jobs in the country. With U.S. tech companies having a reputation for sending jobs overseas, this could be a topic of contention during the meeting.
Recode pointed out that Trump and the tech industry are heading into his presidency at odds on policy ranging from immigration reform to encryption. There may also be some reluctance on the part of the tech exec invitees who view the summit as more of a chore than an opportunity to impact how their business sector will be regulated under a Trump administration. Not on the invitation list included prominent venture capitalists and entrepreneurs like Marc Andreessen, Max Levchin, Mark Cuban and Reid Hoffman.
One immediate change for the tech space under Trump could be a rollback of internet oversight by the Federal Communications Commission.