Significant influence through involvement of a critical mass of top business leaders.

Collective action on issues that matter to your company.

Direct access to top federal, state and regional political leaders and stakeholder groups.

Valuable connections to the influential business and civic leaders in the region.

Credibility through well researched, fact-based positions and policy recommendations.

Regional policy expertise through internal experts, external networks and partner organizations.

Execution ability by an organization with a proven ability to get results and achieve needed policy outcomes.

Not only did we think that the 28th annual East Bay USA delivered the goods this year, but feedback from our attendees of the January 23 half-day conference at the Hilton Concord confirmed that our content and speakers were spot-on. Specific ratings were excellent (18%), very good (42 %), fairly good (29%) and mildly good (4%).

We did receive some excellent suggestions from attendees, including a call to feature women speakers, which we were not able to do this year; new content that would attract a broader and younger audience; more interaction with presenters; and even a different format. Our committee is considering all the great suggestions. Please watch for details as East Bay USA continues its evolution as the East Bay's premier business event.

This year's program opened with a positive economic forecast from economist Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, who said 2013 ended on a strong note and things were generally getting better, this from a man who is not afraid to be negative. He cited what he called phenomenal state assets, and said the state has been growing faster since the downturn ended. Thornberg also joined dinner keynoter Geoff Colvin of Fortune magazine for a lively conversation following Colvin's comments.

The first morning panel addressed alternative transportation, following Contra Costa Transportation Authority's Randy Iwasaki's thorough overview of transportation in the East Bay. Offering good information and examples of successful programs were Michael Fischer and Christopher Hedden of Cambridge Systematics and Chris Weeks of Sunset Development/Bishop Ranch.

The second panel featured new technologies at work in the region, with discussion covering the importance of a well-rounded education that includes science and math, how colleges and universities are engaging with business, and the continuing difficulty for people in business to find great people to hire. Panelists were Sean Chang, who directs IT for The Clorox Company; Ulrik Grape of Seeo Corporation, which has developed a new generation of rechargeable lithium batteries; Rich Stump of Fathom Studios, a product development company specializing in 3D printing; and panel moderator Ken Maxey of Comcast.

Luncheon keynoter and angel investor Randy Haykin of Outlook Ventures was both thoughtful and provocative in his presentation of how to get technology to market, and challenged East Bay business and industry to develop a stronger entrepreneurial spirit. He outlined what's required for innovation, comparing what exists and what is lacking in the East Bay versus Silicon Valley and San Francisco: seeder companies, a larger investment community and an incubation mentality.

Dinner speaker Geoff Colvin opened his talk with a discussion of the surprising success of Candy Crush Saga, a hit mobile phone game made by King Digital Entertainment Plc. "Who would have imagined such a clearly ridiculous but highly successful business model?" he asked. Colvin went on to comment that most companies want a sustainable competitive advantage, and innovating the business model is very profound and important. "The best companies never stop building human capital, and that is more important than ever. They are also radically customer centric," he said.

Presentations from the day are posted on the East Bay USA page on the Council website.

East Bay USA 2014 Steering Committee members included Keith Archuleta, Terry Bowen, David Bowlby, Bob Brown, Ron Brown, Joe Lorenz, A.J. Major, Bielle Moore, Sue Rainey, Andrew Sabey, Ed Shaffer and Anne Marie Taylor.

Read a Contra Costa Times article about the conference by Lou Fancher, and view photos in Diablo Faces. The event is being aired on Contra Costa Television on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-verse channel 99. For air dates, visit the CCTV program guide or call (925) 313-1180.

The Council thanks all East Bay USA sponsors, exhibitors and table patrons, including Chevron (title sponsor); Contra Costa Times, John Muir Health, Shell Martinez Refinery (major sponsors); AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah, Kaiser Permanente (sustaining sponsors); and Comcast, Contra Costa Association of REALTORS®, Delta Diablo Sanitation District, Foley & Lardner LLP, Mechanics Bank, Miller Starr Regalia, Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County (contributing sponsors).

As we reflect back on the great presentations and panels that were part of our East Bay USA conference in January (see story, this issue), several of the speakers offered us a particularly thoughtful view of what we need to change to move our region's economy forward.

From Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large of Fortune Magazine, we heard that the successful companies in America today are characterized as constantly innovative, customer-centric and focused on human capital. That essentially describes what we at times fail to see, which is the high value of these job creators in our own backyard. These innovators are yearning for assistance, venture capital and good connections. Nor can we forget that all businesses, whether traditional or new technology start-ups, need our support and assistance, even as we hold them to a high degree of accountability, environmental concern and positive community investment. We also need to work at bringing forward these same three key criteria for successful companies to our governments, the delivery of social services and our business associations, including the East Bay Leadership Council.

From Randy Haykin, East Bay resident, venture capitalist and long-time technology leader, we were given an outline of how we can both grade ourselves, and our solutions, to growing technology jobs in our region. While we have crucial university and lab connections, with the added value of government funding of research, the unique nature of these institutions doesn't easily translate to early-success start-up companies. We also have lacked the major technology giant that would have spawned many other start-ups like those seen in other parts of the Bay Area.

At the same time, we have the opportunity to build on our strengths. These include a good amount of available space and land, the ability to have a reasonable commute that gives balance to our life, reasonably priced housing, many examples of high-quality education, and the quality of life that people forming families have long seen as one of our area's key assets. Over time, the intersections that have occurred from having a variety of industry clusters emerge and grow locally, will create opportunities in new products. Think of what our agricultural base could do, aligned with the new water technologies. Or consider alternative energy opportunities intersecting with the needs of advanced manufacturing.

Both of these speakers gave us a view of how we can grow if we expand our existing thinking and apply these perspectives to our own region. We have many successful businesses in the East Bay. We can attract businesses from other regions in the Bay Area by demonstrating that the assets and quality of life of the East Bay provide the best opportunity to grow here. It will require some different thinking than the way we have done business in the past, but we are fortunate to already have so many of the criteria in place that will lead to a healthier regional economy.