Trump, tech leaders set for roundtable meeting
Presidentelect Donald Trump has invited technology industry leaders to a roundtable next week in New York.
The invitation for the Dec. 14 summit was sent by Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-inlaw, and transition team adviser Peter Thiel. Among the CEOs who will attend the meeting is Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.
The tech industry, which bet heavily on Hillary Clinton in the months leading up to the presidential election, is looking to build bridges to the incoming administration.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Thiel declined to comment.
Trump last week announced the formation of a business council chaired by Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of investment firm Blackstone Group, and comprised of the leaders of major U.S. corporations including GE, GM and Boeing.
Noticeably absent were chief executives of Apple, Facebook and Google. The only representative from tech was IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, who is not from Silicon Valley. Last month, Rometty published an open letter to Trump, offering support for some of his policies.
Trump’s remarks on tech have alarmed tech execs, but they also see a new opportunity to push a tech-friendly agenda.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wished him success. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff congratulated Trump on Twitter. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted congratulations on LinkedIn.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called to congratulate him, Trump told The New York Times.
“Most of Silicon Valley is moving from the ‘surprised and in denial’ phase to accepting the change that’s coming,” said Semil Shah, general partner at venture capital firm Haystack Fund in Menlo Park, Calif.
Tech has a Trump emissary in Thiel, the billionaire investor who is advising the Trump transition team. He was a delegate for Trump and spoke at the Republican National Convention.
Facebook declined to comment whether it would attend. Thiel sits on the board of the giant social network.
The tech industry, which bet heavily on Hillary Clinton in the months leading up to the election, is looking to build bridges to the incoming Trump administration.