Attractive
San Francisco, Creative San
Francisco
Superior talent, a
world-class business address, a city of great beauty. These
qualities - and record low lease rates - are helping San Francisco
win jobs and headquarters (see WINS section below). While
unemployment is high and we have much work to do for our economy, we
can be heartened that San
Francisco is a magnet for a variety of firms
and their headquarters. This makes the task of the SFCED and the
city easier.
San
Francisco's attractiveness to
businesses should not come as a surprise, according to Carnegie
Mellon economist Richard Florida, who rates San Francisco
as number one in the nation on his Creative Index. Marked by
tolerance as well as talent and technology - Florida calls these the "Three T's" -
San
Francisco has the innovative drive and unique
spirit that makes for a city's economic success. For more
information about Florida's findings, see http://www.sfced.org/creativity.htm
WINS:
SFCED welcomes three companies and their headquarters operations:
Congratulations and
welcome to the following firms:
Moving its headquarters and 225
jobs from Los Angeles to San Francisco
this month is MediaLive
International, formerly known as Key3Media Group, and
operator of Comdex, Networld + Interop and other technology shows.
Quoted in the Business Times, MediaLive's CEO Robert Priest Heck
said, "We think there's better technology media talent in the Bay
Area." See story at the following URL: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2003/08/18/story1.html.
Golden Gate Software will soon
be moving more than 70 jobs back across the bridge from Sausalito;
apparently the company "left its heart" here in the city where it
was founded. And finally, GangaGen, a small biosciences
concern with operations in Bangalore,
India and
Toronto,
Canada opened up a
headquarters office here. GangaGen's board chair David Martin talked
about San
Francisco as an ideal location from which to
manage a globally distributed biosciences
firm.
HOST
CITY SAN
FRANCISCO: BIO 2004 comes back to "where it
all started."
In the early 1970's
right here in San
Francisco, Herbert Boyer of UCSF developed
recombinant DNA methods and launched the modern biosciences
industry. He went on to found Genentech. It is therefore fitting
that the industry association, BIO, will have its annual convention
here in San
Francisco next year. And it is even more
fitting that BIO 2004's theme is "where it all
started."
In preparation for BIO
2004, the SFCED has launched a Host City-Host Region Task
Force. The task force will help get the word out that
San
Francisco and the Bay Area are not only the
birthplace of modern biosciences, but are also its future. For more
information on how to take part in the task force, contact tewing@sfced.org.
GETTING
INVOLVED: SFCED holds first Economic Development
Forum
On August 11, 2003, the
SFCED held its first economic development forum to discuss with
attendees San
Francisco's economic development strategy.
Stay tuned for details on the next forum (see www.sfced.org) which
will be held in October at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. If
you want to attend the next forum or be involved in attraction and
retention efforts, contact tewing@sfced.org.
COMMENDATIONS:
Community leaders rallying to support SFCED and its important
mission
Leaders
from business, labor and the non profit communities are to be
commended for contributing resources toward the effort to attract
and retain jobs and businesses. Recent polls indicate San
Franciscans have economic development as one of their main concerns.
With their help - and the participation of many San Franciscans -
the SFCED is working to help create a strong and prosperous economic
future. For more information, please contact SFCED Development
Director Nichelle
Lyons at nlyons@sfced.org or Todd Ewing at
tewing@sfced.org.
The SFCED is housed at
the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. Visit its website at www.sfced.org. If you
have any questions, please contact tewing@sfced.org. | 
