For Tech CEOs, Not Attending White House Summit Is Greater Risk
June 18 2017 - 07:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Yoree Koh
Technology executives at odds with the Trump administration see
a bigger problem than attending a White House brainstorming session
Monday -- not attending.
Silicon Valley has been among the most vocal critics of
President Donald Trump over his positions on issues such as climate
change and immigration. Still, representatives from Apple Inc.,
Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google,
companies that have opposed his policies, are expected to make the
cross-country trip to ensure their voices are heard.
Also expected to attend are Intel Corp. Chief Executive Brian
Krzanich, Oracle Corp. co-CEO Safra Katz, a member of Mr. Trump's
transition team, and Cisco Systems Corp. Chief Executive Chuck
Robbins.
"If you don't show up, I think that's the worst scenario," Apple
Chief Executive Tim Cook said in early May, when asked about the
company's relationship to the White House during an interview with
CNBC. "Because then you're quiet and this doesn't do your cause any
good, or your point of view any good."
Communication between the White House and Silicon Valley,
already strained by the president's proposed ban on travel to the
U.S. by people from six Muslim-majority countries, was shaken after
the White House pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate
accord.
Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration
Technologies Corp., announced after the move he was quitting his
role on councils that advise the president. He had been among the
most vocal and visible Silicon Valley contacts for the White
House.
A Tesla spokesman declined to comment.
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, who tweeted his disappointment
after the Paris decision, isn't attending the Monday session
because of a scheduling conflict that arose after the summit was
rescheduled, a person familiar with the matter said.
Others plan to attend despite the tensions. "You have to take a
look at the landscape and see where you can find some common
ground," said Linda Moore, chief executive of Technet, a
Washington-based lobbying group comprising U.S. technology
companies and executives. Those areas include tax reform and
workforce development, she said.
Aaron Levie, CEO of the digital-storage company Box Inc., said
in an interview last month the risk of the administration making
decisions without hearing directly from the tech industry is too
great.
"It's not a given that the policy decisions are going to be
aligned with the long-term trends that I think at least the tech
industry is witnessing on the front lines," he said.
Mr. Levie, along with Cisco chairman John Chambers and venture
capitalist John Doerr, met in April with White House officials and
members of Congress to discuss tech issues including education and
privacy.
"Everyone's kind of got their own comfort level and their own
desire of how much they want to engage," said Ms. Moore.
Mr. Cook, for example, spoke to the White House following both
its immigration order and its exit from the Paris accord. Apple
didn't respond to requests for comment.
In March, Mr. Benioff attended a White House roundtable on
workforce development with Mr. Trump, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and other CEOs, during which he suggested the aspirational
goal of creating five million apprenticeships by 2020. Earlier this
week, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to reduce barriers to
apprenticeships.
Write to Yoree Koh at yoree.koh@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2017 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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