Check out this interview with Ken Myer, WTIA President & CEO on the business of running a trade association, the opportunities and challenges facing our tech industry, and his decision to leave the WTIA in the coming weeks.
Thank you to our partner InterviewStudio who has helped us bring this to the community. Click on the image below to watch Ken’s interview.
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Washington Technology Industry Association is a technology trade association that represents industry-leading technology companies and leaders who share a singular mission: to help Washington state technology innovators succeed. Our members recognize that a vibrant technology industry in Washington is critical to the economic success of our entire region.
Consider these facts:
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Washington State’s technology sector employs more than 250,000 people, representing 11% of the entire working population of the state. |
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75% of technology sector jobs are concentrated in the Puget Sound area, and 25% are located in the fast-growing areas where Washington Technology Industry Association has established chapters: Bellingham, Spokane, South Sound (Tacoma), Olympic Peninsula, and the Tri-Cities in Southeastern Washington. |
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Washington State ranks 3rd in concentration of high-tech employment among its 10 peer states. |
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Washington State ranks 2nd in the nation in new company creation. |
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Software exports are 2nd only to aerospace in Washington State, which ranks 1st in exports per capita and 5th in the nation in total export value. |
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| Founded in 1984 by volunteers from what, at that time, was a very small industry, Washington Technology Industry Association (then known as the Washington Software Association) was created with the idea that members would gather to share knowledge, helping both themselves and their young companies.
Those companies grew, in size and in number, into an industry providing software for business productivity, networking and telecommunications, education, engineering, healthcare operating systems, database and general business applications. With the growth of the Internet and the explosion of innovative technology products and services, Washington Technology Industry Association expanded along with the changing industry, to include all technology companies, to meet the needs of our members.
When the Washington Technology Industry Association first opened its doors, the staff consisted of one part-timer and fewer than 100 members. Today we have a dedicated full time staff, numerous volunteers, a large board of directors that provides valuable strategic direction for our organization, and more than 1,000 member companies and their 100,000 employees. |
