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Over 800 attend 2007 Border Security Conference in El Paso
It’s getting better each year! Last month, UTEP and Congressman Reyes hosted the 4th Annual Border Security Conference in El Paso and this year’s attendance, as well as the line-up of speakers, was the most impressive to date. Featured speakers at the two-day event included Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security; Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence; Admiral James G. Stavridis, Commander, United States Southern Command; Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant of the US Coast Guard; and Jose Rodríguez, Director, National Clandestine Service for the CIA. Other top officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and DEA also made presentations, along with key representatives from private companies such as Boeing, Computer Sciences Corporation, SAIC and Lockheed-Martin.
This is the second year that REDCo has been one of the financial co-sponsors of this event, which again provided a tremendous opportunity for REDCo to have one-on-one conversations with America’s top technology companies. We had more than 100 individuals stop by our exhibit booth, and we picked up 4 strong leads from high tech companies in attendance. For the second consecutive year, REDCo coordinated with federal entities to provide “border security tours” to participants in the conference. This year, 22 individuals joined with REDCo and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to facilitate a windshield tour of the border led by a Border Patrol Agent. In addition the participants were routed on a walking tour of the Bridge of the Americas.
Corporate Interest in El Paso and Juarez -- Way Up
You will notice that this month’s activity pyramids indicate an increasingly strong interest in El Paso and Juarez on the part of global companies considering expansion or relocation. Of the 73 companies currently evaluating El Paso, 27 (37% of the total) are in the military-defense sector. We are hosting at least 6 visits from this sector during the months of September and October, and we hope to make announcements from this sector by late 2007 or early 2008.
Andy Haskell Departing REDCo to Work for German Defense Contractor
We are sad to report that Andy Haskell will be leaving REDCo in mid-September to work for Autoflug Safety Systems as their Director of Sales. Andy has led REDCo’s defense industry recruitment efforts since May 2006, and is largely responsible for the strong gain in the number of military-defense clients that are actively considering our region. Andy did a great job for us, actually leading the effort to recruit Autoflug’s first- ever U.S. manufacturing facility to El Paso. We always try to recruit highly talented staff members, and therefore highly marketable people to REDCo, and Andy certainly exemplified both of these characteristics. We will miss him on the team and wish him every success with his new employer.
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