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Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Hosts Marc Andreessen, Katrina Roche and Other Thought Leaders; Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series Now Open to the Public

Business Wire, Sept 26, 2005

BERKELEY, Calif. -- UC Berkeley's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET) has launched a "Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series" that highlights some of the most forward thinking minds in business today -- including Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, and Gilman Louie, who runs a venture capital group funded by the CIA. Previously exclusive to students and faculty associated with the CET, the series is now open to the public.

The next lecturer is A. Katrina Roche, CEO of Cistera Networks (OTCBB:CNHC) and the former CEO in residence with the private equity firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Her lecture, "Mining the Mind for Riches: The Role of Scientists and Engineers in the Golden Age of the Brain," will take place Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Sibley Auditorium at UC Berkeley.

The Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series is one of several programs the CET has launched to partner with prominent business leaders to nurture entrepreneurship, new venture creation, and technology commercialization in the Berkeley community. This fall's lecture series focuses on the coming needs of businesses in the global economy and the new technologies needed to address them. The lectures are tailored to an audience of new and potential entrepreneurs.

"Success and leadership in today's economy involves more than expertise in engineering or science, it requires entrepreneurial skills and global awareness," said Stacey Lawson, UC Berkeley industry fellow and CET faculty advisor. "The Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology educates engineers and scientists to develop a keen understanding of innovation processes, as well as to recognize and harvest technology opportunities around the world. Through our Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series, business thought leaders share their insights on this new global model, bringing it to life with real-world examples."

Marc Andreessen spoke Wednesday, September 21. As co-founder of Netscape and co-writer of Mosaic, the first graphic web browser, Andreessen is credited with popularizing the Internet. His current company, Opsware, Inc., is the world's leading IT automation and utility computing software company. In his talk, "2005: A Web Odyssey," Andreessen shared his views on how the entrepreneurial landscape has changed since the early days of the Web, and how we currently live in a time of unprecedented opportunity for starting and funding technology companies.

The inaugural Distinguished Innovator Lecture was held Wednesday, September 14, 2005 and featured Dr. Gilman Louie, president and CEO of In-Q-Tel, a private, not-for-profit company funded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to identify and invest in emerging companies and cutting-edge technologies that serve U.S. national security interests. Louie left his position as Hasbro International's chief creative officer to head up In-Q-Tel. Earlier, he achieved fame as founder and president of Spectrum Holobyte, Inc., where he was responsible for two seminal successes in the interactive entertainment industry: Tetris and the Falcon, F-16 flight simulator, which became an influential tool for U.S. military training. In his talk, Louie offered advice on how to attract venture capital and what to do vs. what to avoid during the start-up phase.

Upcoming speakers in the Fall 2005 series are:

September 28:   Katrina Roche, CEO, Cistera Networks: "Mining the Mind
                for Riches: The Role of Scientists and Engineers in
                the Golden Age of the Brain"

October 12:     John Roberts, CEO and co-founder, SugarCRM Inc: "The
                Open Source Business Model"

October 19:     Geoffrey Moore, venture partner, MDV-Mohr
                Davidow Ventures: "Complex Systems, Volume Operations,
                and the Next Generation of Technology Sector
                Innovation"

October 26:     Aneel Bhusri, general partner, Greylock
                Partners and former vice chairman, PeopleSoft: "The
                Power of Innovation"

November 16:    Coleman Fung, founder and CEO, OpenLink
                Financial: "Mastering the Sport of Entrepreneurship"

The lectures are free of charge and take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Sibley Auditorium, in UC Berkeley's Bechtel Building. Additional speakers may be added and schedules may change, so those interested in attending should confirm times and locations by visiting the CET website: http://cet.berkeley.edu/.>

About CET

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET) is a new academic center within UC Berkeley's College of Engineering. Its mission is to educate science and engineering students to become international entrepreneurial leaders, while encouraging new start-up ventures based on discoveries made at Berkeley, and forging links between UC Berkeley's resources and local businesses and venture capital firms. Current course instruction primarily serves engineering and science students, but CET resources are available to all members of the UC Berkeley community.