DENVER  -  Governor Bill Owens today announced the formation of the Cabinet-level Office of Innovation and Technology, charging it with the task of making Colorado a world leader in the development and implementation of 21st Century technologies and management efficiencies. Owens appointed Carbondale resident Marc Holtzman as the office's Executive Director.

"Colorado is a world-recognized leader in the development of telecommunications technology. It's time to build on that success," stated Owens at a news conference. "We want Colorado to be a cutting-edge leader in the development, attraction and implementation of technologies.

"When it comes to implementing efficient technologies, Colorado's government is light years behind local industry. The same cutting-edge technologies that have made local companies more efficient and service-friendly should be implemented here in Colorado's government.

"Imagine renewing your drivers' license over the Internet. If you live in Arizona you can do it today. Why not Colorado?" questioned Owens. "The Internet, e-commerce, and new management efficiencies are transforming the way America's private companies do business. Paperless, on-line procurement has replaced costly, cumbersome procedures. Why not Colorado? Streamlining our government will save taxpayers' money and make government more efficient.

"Second, this office will build on Colorado's telecommunications success by attracting well-paying, quality jobs in other technology industries, such as biotechnology, computer hardware and software, and the Internet," added Owens. "The Office of Innovation and Technology will work to ensure that Colorado residents represent the most sought-after workforce in the world.

"This office will work to enhance Colorado's competitiveness by working with universities and private employers to promote a skilled and educated workforce, identify job-creating tax and regulatory policies and demonstrate to employers around the nation and world why our state is a great place to create technology jobs," concluded Owens.

The specific mission statement for the Office is:

"To make Colorado a world leader in the formation and implementation of technology by creating a favorable business climate, cultivating relationships with technology leaders worldwide, and utilizing technology and innovation to streamline and simplify Colorado's government in terms meaningful to Colorado's taxpayers."

Holtzman detailed four specific goals for the office:

• to create a legislative environment that will keep Colorado on the cutting edge of the technology revolution shaping the next century;
• to increase inward investment and the development of quality, well-paying technology sectors employment opportunities;
• to assist the Owens administration's ongoing efforts aimed at worker training to ensure a sufficient supply of qualified labor to meet the opportunities ahead;
• to examine ways to reinvent Colorado's government, making it more efficient, cost effective and user friendly. Working with representatives of every agency of Colorado's government, this effort will bring together top quality talent from within our government and the private sector to identify and apply technological and management efficiencies.

• Holtzman also serves as head of the Colorado International Trade Office. As Vice Chairman of ABN AMRO, which ranks among the world's top 15 banks, Holtzman serves the Owens administration for $1 per year. Previously, he was co-founder and President of MeesPierson EurAmerica (a firm which was acquired by ABN AMRO) and Senior Adviser to Salomon Brothers.

• Michael Ciletti will serve as Special Assistant to the Governor for Innovation & Technology and International Trade. Ciletti recently served on the staff of U.S. Senator Wayne Allard and is a Colorado native.

• Frederick James Bolin will serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Innovation and Technology. Bolin was the Director of Special Projects at the Center for the New West, a Denver-based think tank, where he authored the biotechnology report "Biotech Century Dawns in the Western US: An Economic Geography." Bolin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona in 1995.

• Alan Philp will also serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Innovation & Technology. Philp spent five years as Research Director for The Murphy Pintak Gautier Hudome Agency, a political consulting firm based in Falls Church, Virginia. A native of San Jose, California, Philp earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis and a Master's Degree in American Government from The American University in Washington, D.C. He has worked for the California State Senate and Americans for Tax Reform, where he prepared studies on the cost of regulations.