TechNet Appoints New Executive Council Members Marissa Mayer of Yahoo! and Safra Catz of Oracle

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TechNet, the bipartisan policy and political network of technology CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, is pleased to announce the addition of Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! chief executive officer, president and director, and Safra Catz, Oracle president and chief financial officer to TechNet's Executive Council. 

"We are delighted to welcome Marissa Mayer and Safra Catz onto the Executive Council," said Rey Ramsey, president and chief executive officer of TechNet. "These two remarkable industry leaders and their fresh perspectives and ideas are valuable additions to the collective expertise of TechNet's Executive Council. TechNet will gain enormously from their years of experience and business acumen and we look forward to having their counsel."

"Safra Catz and Marissa Mayer bring valuable new perspectives to our mission at TechNet," said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and chief executive officer and co-chair of TechNet. "They are both remarkable leaders and their wisdom will strengthen our efforts to grow our economy through smart innovation policy."

"The addition of these two extraordinary executives will strengthen TechNet and our advocacy for America's innovators and economic growth," said John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner and co-chair of TechNet. "Safra Catz and Marissa Mayer each bring unique skills and perspectives that will help TechNet expand our mission to promote the innovation economy."

"I'm pleased to add Yahoo!'s voice to the Executive Council and look forward to working with TechNet in support of smart policies that spur innovation and drive our country's economy," said Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! chief executive officer, president and director.

"TechNet's Executive Council includes an incredibly diverse representation of companies across every section of the technology industry," said Safra Catz, Oracle president and chief financial officer. "I am delighted to represent Oracle as part of this accomplished group and look forward to furthering TechNet's mission to promote the innovation economy."

Marissa Mayer was named Yahoo! CEO, president and director in July 2012. Prior to Yahoo! Marissa Mayer was vice president of Local, Maps, and Location Services at Google where she oversaw product management, engineering, design and strategy for the company's suite of local and geographical products, including Google Maps, Google Earth, Zagat, Street View, and local search, for desktop and mobile. Prior to joining Google, Marissa worked at the UBS research lab in Zurich, Switzerland and at SRI International in Menlo Park, California. Marissa serves on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. She is also on the board of various non-profits, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Ballet, and the New York City Ballet.

Oracle President and CFO Safra Catz joined Oracle in 1999, has been President of Oracle since 2004, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 2001.  After serving as CFO from 2005-2008, Catz was re-appointed in April 2011.  Catz oversees one of the most active mergers and acquisitions programs in the world, with more than 80 in the past 6 years valued over $43billion, including the industry transforming acquisition of Sun Microsystems. With 20% earnings growth over the past 5 years, Oracle stock has quadrupled since Catz joined. Catz is a member of the board of directors for HSBC Holdings plc, one the largest banking and financial services organizations.

Current members of TechNet's Executive Council include:

• Cisco, John Chambers, (co-chair, TechNet), Chairman & CEO
• Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, John Doerr (co-chair, TechNet), Partner
• Bloom Energy, KR Sridhar, Co-Founder & CEO
• ClearStreet, Kim Polese, Chairman
• EMC, Joseph Tucci, Chairman, President & CEO
• EnerNOC, Tim Healy, Chairman & CEO
• F5 Networks, John McAdam, President & CEO
• Genentech, Ian Clark, CEO
• GlobalFoundries, Ajit Manocha, CEO
• Google, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman
• HP, Henry Gomez, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer
• Marvell, Weili Dai, Co-Founder
• Microsoft, Brad Smith, General Counsel and Executive Vice President
• NASDAQ OMX Group, Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President
• Stanford University, Joseph Grundfest, W.A. Franke Professor of Law and Business
• VeriSign, James Bidzos, Chairman and CEO

The addition of Marissa Mayer and Safra Catz to the Executive Council comes just before TechNet Day, the organization's annual CEO fly-in to Washington, D.C., which will take place on Thursday, March 14, 2013. TechNet CEOs and executives will deliver a clear message on the importance of high-skilled immigration reform to the country's economic strength and competitiveness. TechNet Day will feature an inaugural Politico CEO Roundtable Breakfast on "Ideas on Innovation and Growing the Economy." Furthermore, TechNet CEOs and senior executives will hold meetings with the Obama administration officials, as well as meetings with Congressional leaders from the U.S. House and Senate.  More information about TechNet Day and TechNet can be found at www.technet.org.  

About TechNet:

TechNet is the national, bipartisan network of CEOs that promotes the growth of technology industries and the economy by building long-term relationships between technology leaders and policymakers and by advocating a targeted policy agenda. TechNet's members represent more than one million employees in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, e-commerce and finance. TechNet has offices in Washington, D.C., Palo Alto, Sacramento, Seattle, Boston and Austin. Web address: www.technet.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @technetupdate.

SOURCE TechNet