Tim Cook to Attend Exclusive Tech Summit Hosted By Donald Trump
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Apple CEO Tim Cook will attend an exclusive meeting of Silicon Valley executives hosted by president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday. He, along with less than a dozen other tech leaders, will congregate at the top of Trump Tower in Manhattan to discuss a range of what will surely be significant and momentous issues.
Other tech leaders who will attend the summit, according to Recode, include Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.
“I plan to tell the president-elect that we are with him and will help in any way we can,” said Catz. “If he can reform the tax code, reduce regulation and negotiate better trade deals, the U.S. technology industry will be stronger and more competitive than ever.”
Most of the companies declined to respond to requests for comment, but the stakes for the meeting are high as they begin to come to terms with the fact of Trump’s presidency.
The invitations were circulated last week to the select group of tech titans by Trump chief-of-staff Reince Priebus, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and adviser Peter Thiel, who is himself a Silicon Valley billionaire. He is expected to serve a key role in counseling Trump on matters related to the powerful tech industry.
“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. “Some of that change, such as immigration, creates anxiety and uncertainty. Some of that change, such as potential for economic stimulus at a national level, gives some folks business confidence.”
Noticeably absent from the list of attendees is Mark Cuban, as well as representatives from many other prominent tech companies such as Uber, AirBnB, and Netflix– which may be an indication of continued enmity between Trump and Silicon Valley.
