Save the dates: 4 to 6th June 2008 in La Baule (the sea-side resort) in Western France.

2 major events are taking place at the same time with cross-meetings : one is focused on CEO levels from very large multinational companies: the La Baule-WIC (World Investment Conference), and the othe one is focused on innovative start-ups from the USA and Europe: the CTS (California Tech Showcase). My opinion is that it is worth the travel, so give it a try and you’ll see that Western France is not only good for fresh air !

Latest news I got from the 2 events:

- The CTS has just started the selection procedures, so if you are (or if you know any) a young innovative tech company, think twice before leaving the opportunity to showcase your business between 54 other start-ups from California and Europe to a public of about 200 CEOs of international companies, such as British Telecom, Siemens, ST Microelectronics, Daimler or Nokia Ventures. More info on www.euro-gate.net

- The La Baule-WIC is in the starting blocks from now on. This year’s theme handels with “Brainpower in Europe -the driver for growth”. Essential for attaining the aims of the New Lisbon Agenda, Europe needs to increase its level of R&D investments as well as to attract new talents to maintain the comparative advantage it shows today in this field. During the conference in June, business leaders and European decision makers will debate about this subject and come with concrete measures to be implemented. To get to know everything about FDI in Europe and more specifically about the sector of creativity and design, you will have to download the scoping paper of the La Baule World Investment Conference at the following website: http://www.labaulewic.org/programme/Executive_Summary

I’ll be there and I’ll let you know in advance the latest information about the 2 venues. To be continued…