The Business Forum - Executive Meetings, Conferences, Business Luncheons - Round Table Discussions

Please Scroll Down Please Scroll Down

"It is impossible for ideas to compete in the marketplace if no forum for
their presentation is provided or available." Thomas Mann, 1896

The Business Forum was formed by a small group of decision makers drawn from business, government and academia in the State of California in 1982. The only intention we had back then was to fill the void that existed in unbiased information sourcing, and to allow us to facilitate change by providing a forum for the discussion and introduction of all new technologies, products and services, ideas and philosophies; while also gaining the opportunity to educate ourselves. The Business Forum has always been, and always shall be, an unaffiliated and independent organization, dedicated to be an unbiased source of information for decision makers in the Pacific States of America and, with this web site, to provide the same unbiased information to decision makers around the World.

Today, with members, supporters and sponsors located in all around the world, this web site has been developed to allow decision makers in other countries to benefit from our programs, even if they will rarely have the opportunity to actually attend one of our luncheons or meetings in person.

Against all ruling thought amongst business people all over the world, there actually is such a thing as a "free lunch" with The Business Forum, provided of course that you are able to qualify in the subject matter and that your input will add to and help to balance the discussion. Invited guests who attend a Business Forum event do so incurring "no cost whatsoever, and with absolutely no obligation implied". Twenty six years ago several of us decided that sitting through a carefully orchestrated sales presentation did not really serve our needs for learning about anything. So we just reversed the accepted system of providing information as accepted at the time. We created a situation where vendors of products, services or ideas would be invited to take five minutes to say "what they offered", "why people purchased what they offered" and "who had purchased it from them", and then open the conversation by allowing our guests to question the vendor. If nothing else, we saw that we would learn what our peers were concerned about, allowing us to return to our own organizations and investigate whether or not we should be concerned about it also.

We have also developed a program where any organization can sponsor a "Think Tank", where we will assemble a group of experts, or concerned parties, to act as a sounding board for changes being considered, or new products or services the organization wants more input on prior to making any great investment of time and capital. It has worked so well we are still doing it, for some of the most well known organizations in the world. Consider if you will the partial list of corporations, governments and organizations shown on the right that have sponsored our meetings for more than a quarter of a century.

The Business Forum for more than a quarter of a century, has organized luncheon events where decision makers can meet and debate ideas and business concerns with experts and their peers. We draw our guests from a wide diversity of organizations, governments and professions. The result is that at our forums our guests can enjoy the opportunity to discuss new ideas, technologies and services with qualified experts and can also voice their concerns and share experiences with their peers. The result being that we can help each other find solutions to current problems and thereby help to engineer change and advancement.

The fact that The Business Forum Concept works, is well proven by the list of sponsors shown on this page, their testimonials and the comment of the decision makers who attend our forums; and the fact that we have grown, without sales effort, public relations or advertising, over the last 25 years. The Business Forum also organizes "closed events", where we invite small groups of experts with very specialized expertise and experience, that we are able to select from a wide variety of professions, disciplines or businesses, who are able to come together to share their personal knowledge in the development of new products, services, ideas, opportunities or alliances.

Any decision maker can register to be informed of new white papers as they are published and about upcoming events at absolutely no charge and with no obligation whatsoever; and may apply to attend our meetings should they be qualified to attend. They will find if they do that The Business Forum gives its guests the opportunity to enjoy a luncheon with their peers in a world class hotel and take part in a moderated discussion with recognized experts.

Our program of Forums and everything that is published on our web site, has been chosen with the sole intention of being able to help our members and supporters to be more effective, efficient, economic and enduring in their endeavors within the global economy. We have been fortunate to have been supported over the years by many Sponsors, who believe in our mission and understand that only by debate and discussion with their clients, potential clients, alliance partners and suppliers, can they hone their products and services to the point where they will be able to meet the needs of the market place. We are supported by our Members; individuals and organizations who believe as we do, that civilized and honest debate is the epitome of free speech, skills enhancement and the fuel for a successful and prosperous society, by which are we then able to change the future and thereby engineer true progress for all the nations and peoples of the World.

Some of the Testimonials we have received over the years

I commend The Business Forum for once again providing this important opportunity for the exchange of ideas and information.

Senator Barbara Boxer
The United States Senate

The Business Forum is clearly well recognized in the West Coast business community (and) that senior business people value the process.

Alan S. Reiher, Commissioner.
The State of Victoria, Australia

The Business Forum is unique on the West Coast for its ability to assemble a representative sample of the right people and engage them in commercial dialogue.

William H. Spuck, Program Director for Industry Affairs.
Jet Propulsion Laboratories

The Business Forum gives professionals a way to network with their peers, exchange views on current trends, manage risk and identify opportunities to lower cost and improve the customer experience.

John Radford, State Controller.
State of Oregon
President: National Association of State Auditors, Controllers and Treasurers

(We) are familiar with what you have accomplished sponsoring events that lead towards strengthening our economy. We support your efforts.

Robert Stark, Director.
NASA

The Business Forum has the perfect vehicle for sourcing Business Information, a concept with 19th Century sophistication and charm, 20th Century acceptance and trust in the business community and 21st Century answers and solutions. A real class act!

Henry Guttentag, President
Sunway Products Inc.

Where else can I have access to so many people in the business community, network with my peers, hear world-class experts on subjects I need to keep up with and get a completely free first class lunch with absolutely no obligation afterwards . . .

Matt Gonzales, National Facilities Director
Toyota Corporation

Nevada officials were amazed at the quality and level of contacts we gained from luncheons with The Business Forum.

Robert Schriver, Executive Director.
State of Nevada Commission on Economic Development

I was impressed by the quality of services offered by John and his team. He has created a tremendous network, dominated by key decision makers, visionaries and executives from a variety of industries. The topics are relevant, the audience is relevant, everything makes sense. Our organization will benefit immediately from our most recent participation.

Brett Nalder - SMB Leader Western Region
IBM Rational Software

The Business Forum is exactly the type of open environment where a free exchange of dialogue and ideas that are universally applicable can be discussed without bias. This allows for real-world examples to be used, real ideas to be vetted, real people to be honest, real learning to take place. I was impressed at the comfort level of the attendees and the level of participation. It is clear to me that The Business Forum serves its clients well and that the participants trust the Forum and each other, and that kind of established trust is invaluable.

Coley Moore - Corporate Systems
Array Networks, Inc.

We believe The Business Forum participation and 'can do' attitude has bridged the gap of transferring space applications to commercial users.

Dean A. Farmer, Technology Transfer Program Manager.
Rockwell International Aerospace Corporation

As you may recall, when Deloitte & Touché was first invited to participate in The Business Forum activities, I was quite skeptical as to whether you could get the audiences we need and whether it would result in an expansion of out consulting practice. We are pleased to report that we are very satisfied with the visibility we have received and the leads we are pursuing as a result. Consequently, we plan to continue our sponsorship of The Business Forum's luncheons as part of our marketing plan to expand the visibility of our consulting services throughout California. John, thank you for your personal efforts. Your participation in the luncheons is one of the reasons we believe they are successful. We look forward to a continuing relationship.

David R. Lewis, Jr., Partner
Deloitte & Touché

I just wanted to thank you for yesterday's Forum at The Biltmore in Los Angeles. What can I say? That you can get Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, SSP, SolSoft and SafeNet to participate at the same table is unequalled. The only other organization I know of that could put those eight companies into the room to be asked questions, is the Justice Department, and they could only do it by legal means. Then you pack in 36 of the top CIO's and CISO's in Los Angeles County! Absolutely brilliant - and the food and the service were 5 stars to say the least!

Dr. Paul Rosenthal, Professor of Information Systems
California State University, Los Angeles

The Business Forum delivers very lively debates on key topics of interest for the Information Technology community across a wide spectrum of industries. These discussions have provided us with a critical understanding of important issues as well as how technology can be employed in real world settings.

Ken Salzberg - System Technology Laboratories
Intel Corporation

The Business Forum provides a compelling setting for sharing the latest pragmatic ideas and best practices for improving business operations and performance through Information Technology. The emphasis on discussion and debate leads to very real insights for everyone involved.

Bob Kalka - Security Business Unit Executive
IBM - Tivoli Group

Just a word of thanks for the success of the recent business forums. It has been a great opportunity for Cisco to discuss issues with customers on a face-to-face basis outside of the normal sales process. We've been using it as a focus group without the one-way mirror. It lets us get frank feedback and opinions from some very hard to reach executives.

Kevin Flynn - Senior Manager, Security Technology
Cisco Systems, Inc.

Many thanks for providing this energized forum for interacting with seriously interested IT leaders across multiple industries. The wealth of experiential knowledge gathered enabled us to refine our go-to-market plans and develop customer advisory contacts quickly and effectively. I would recommend the Business Forum to my colleagues without hesitation.

Michael Lundblad - Director of Application Integration Management
Candle Corporation

The fact that you were able to arrange to have senior members of the Federal Bureau of Information, world class Internet and forensic experts and a cross section of leading Information Technology vendors together for five hours and openly and interactively address the issues affecting corporate managers, in a non-attribution environment, is unequaled. What is even more impressive, is that you replicated this program across half a dozen cities in four states over three months. We will be following up the contacts we developed through The Business Forum for months to come. Your program works!

Daniel T. Woolley, Vice President
Memco Software Inc.

The Business Forum has put us in a very good strategic position: Talking to the right people at the right organizations about the right solutions that we provide.

Michael Andrews, Western Region Marketing
Watson Wyatt Worldwide

In my current position as National Sales Manager for the TeamWARE Division of Fujitsu Software Corporation, I am constantly on the lookout for productive and intelligent venues to reach informed decision makers with our products and technologies. To this end The Business Forum has proven to be an invaluable resource and business development partner. Your forums put us in front of the right people in a relaxed and friendly environment. Fujitsu will continue to participate in your program and I look forward to a long and rewarding relationship.

Jason M. Rose, National Sales Manager
Fujitsu TeamWARE Division

I would like to thank you and your staff for holding the various meetings and luncheons on Composites. We made a significant number of contacts and helped enlighten our view of opportunities in this market. Your adeptness at facilitating the meetings was a key factor in their success.

James A. Koshak, Vice President, General Manager
CIBA/Geigy Composites

The luncheon program (you) organized on our behalf has been very successful for the Royal Danish Government Consulate General. We especially believe that the meetings related to the environmental sector have found the right format, thus proving to be very productive for the participants, the guests, and this Consulate General. We look forward to working with The Business Forum in the future.

Lasse Reimann, Consul General
Government of Denmark

I wanted to let you know that you have delivered exactly what you promised with The Business Forum. First, you provided us with a forum for delivering a message that simply cannot be delivered by any other means. Second, you did a great job of bringing together the right people at the right level to listen to that message. Third, and most importantly, the result has been that the IT executives we were trying to reach are now not only aware of the information security problems they face, but they are now interested in solving these problems. An added bonus from our participation has been the creation of new strategic partnerships that we would not have considered prior to our participation. With what we have learned through this engagement, we have repositioned our offering and are consequently able to handle the greater volume of business that The Business Forum is bringing to us.

Michael Tiemann, Director of Business Development
Cygnus Support Systems Inc.

I believe that The Business Forum provides a unique, very effective marketing vehicle to deliver a message to a well targeted audience. I have recommended that Data General continue to utilize this forum. It is an ideal method to interface with decision makers.

Michael O'Neill, Marketing Director
Data General Corporation

While it is not yet possible to accurately evaluate the full impact these meetings have had in new business for Norris Environmental Services, I must admit that the revenue growth we have experienced since we started hosting The Business Forum meetings has been impressive. In the eight weeks since adding your services to our tactical marketing mix, we have experienced a growth of gross revenue of over 27%!!

Richard A. Henninger, Director Sales & Marketing
Norris Environmental Services

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for what The Business Forum has been able to achieve for us. Using the round table luncheon format, your organization was able to provide a highly interactive setting for Axiom to share observations and insights with a targeted audience. This interaction has been extremely useful in helping us temper our market messages and enhance our prospect database. Furthermore, The Business Forum was able to accomplish this for approximately fifty (50%) percent less than it currently costs Axiom to promote and conduct this type of event on our own.

Brian Bouren, Executive Vice President
Axiom

For more viewpoints regarding what we do, go to either GUESTS or CLIENTS

If Sponsoring a Business Forum could help your organization - call John Hathaway-Bates at 310-550-1984 or email: John@bizforum.org

Founders of The Business Forum

The Etiquette of Formal & Business Dining

Hot Spots of the World
War, Insurrection, Terrorism & Genocide
Reports from around the World

Personal for Friends & Members Only

Click Here to Support The Business Forum

The Business Forum, its Officers, partners, and all other
parties with which it deals, or is associated with, accept
absolutely no responsibility whatsoever, nor any liability,
for what is published on this web site. Please refer to:

legal description

Home    Calendar    The Business Forum Journal    Features
Concept History    Library    Formats   Guest Testimonials
Client Testimonials   Experts    Search   News Wire    Join
Why Sponsor   Tell-A-Friend    Contact The Business Forum

The Business Forum
9297 Burton Way, Suite 100
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel: 310-550-1984 - Fax: 310-550-6121
john@bizforum.org

Webmaster: bruceclay.com

World Information

This site had 7,540,581 Hits in 2005
This site had 17,299,140 Hits in 2006
This site had 28,049,698 Hits in 2007

Visitors from 169 Countries last month

Click Here to Forward our Site to a Friend

Join Our Email Update List

Letter from the President

Our Sponsors have Included

3-Com Corporation
401(k) Advisors, inc.
AAI/ACL Technologies inc.
Aaron Brothers Inc.
acer America inc.
ADA Compliance Services
ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC.
Aerospace Aluminum inc.
Aerovironment Inc.
agile360, inc.
AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BOARD
Alburger Basso De grosz
Alder, Green & Hanson
Alliance Integration, Inc.
Allied Financial Software
Alydaar Software inc.
American Arbitration Association
American Contracting Services
American Export Trading COMPANY
American honda motor company
American Medical Associates
American Psych Management
andersen consulting
aon consulting
ApertuS-carlton corporation
Arcus Data Security inc.
Arizona Public Service
array networks inc.
Arthur Andersen & Co.
Associates Insurance Concepts
Avacon corporation
AXIOM
Baker Thomsen Associates
Bank Julius Baer
bank of America
Barclay Dean Interiors
Baton Rouge International
Bekins moving & storage company
Benefits Planning inc.
Bitkoo
Blue Cross of California
blue lance, inc.
Bold Associates
BP Chemicals/hitco corporation
BPS reprographics inc.
BRABEION software corporation
Brio Technology inc.
British telecom
BRUCE CLAY, INC.
bryant organization
BTA Advisory Group
Buck Consultants
Panel Debate Luncheons
California department of insurance
California mfg technology center
California export office
California - strategic technology
Cambio Networks inc.
Cambridge management consultants
Cambridge Technology Partners
Candle Corporation
Canoga Perkins corporation
Cap Gemini (America) inc.
Capistrano hospital by the sea
Capp Care inc.
Carleton Corporation
Casparie Resources inc.
Cassidy Employee Services
Cast Management consultants
cch-knowledgepoint Inc.
Century Properties inc.
CH2M Hill corporation
Chaix & Johnson Inc.
Chatterton/Jezek PArTnErs
Chemical Waste Management
chiat/day inc.
Ciba-Geigy Corporation
cigna emploYee benefits
Cigna Health Plans inc.
Cisco systems, Inc.

Commerce One Inc.
community care network
Compel
Compro Inc.
Computer Dynamics inc.
computer sales international inc.
COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION
Compuware corporation
Concept Engineering Group
cooley godward
Coopers & Lybrand LLP
Corroon & black llp
Cotkin & Collins llp
CTR Business Systems, inc.
Cummins & White llp
Cygnus Solutions, Inc.
cybertrust, inc.
Cylink corporation
Data General corporation
Dawco Products, inc.
DCS Systems inc.
Decision Management Company
Deloitte & Touche llp
DELOITTE CONSULTING
Det Norske Veritas
Deutsche Bank
Direction Focus
DMR Corporation
Dow Chemical company
DP Specialists inc.
Drug Prevention Strategies
dumonde solutions, inc.
earth technology corporation
ebi Solutions llc
Economic Research Institute
enhanced solutions corporation
Ernst & Young llp
execufit health programs
federal Bureau of Investigation
First Financial corporation
first union securities inc.
Fluor Corporation
Foster Higgins
FRONTBRIDGE INC.
Frozen Leopard Inc.
Fujitsu (America) corporation
Game Trackers Limited
gardner associates
Garland & Associates
geneva companies
Gensler & Associates
Geraghty & Miller
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher llp
Guidance Software Inc.
Government computer systems inc.
government of canada
government of denmark
government of mexico
Government of Victoria, AUSTralia
Graham & James llp
Grancell Lebovitz llp
grey advertising
greg Stebbins consulting
Grumman Systems Corporation
Haight, Brown & Bonesteel llp
Handley-Walker Company
Hartsfield Company
HCL technologies America inc.
Health Net inc.
Healthcare Metropolis
Healthcare Evaluation
heller Ehrman llp
Higgins, Marcus & Lovett llp
Hill Brothers Chemical Company
Hitachi computer products inc.
Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel llp
Holman Professional inc.
holmes & narver inc.
HR Technology Inc.
IBM Corporation
IBM Crisis Response Team
IBM - Tivoli Group
IBM - Rational Software
icl International Computers LTD.
Imperial Bank
Industrial Relations inc.
Industry Network Corporation
InfoImage corporation
infomart, inc.
Innovative Resources inc.
INTELLITACTICS, INC.
Insight Consulting Group
Intel Corporation
intensive hosting/rackspace
interaction associates
Interface Flooring Systems inc.
Internal Affairs Inc.
International Fieldworks
International Rectifier corporation
Internet O.M.N. corporation
Investment Tax Strategies
Investor's Daily
it CRISIS SERVICES, INC.
J. Frank Consulting
Jayco interface technology inc.
Jennings Engstrand & henrikson
Jet Propulsion laboratories
John T Lynch Company
Johnson & Higgins
Kamer CONSULTING GROUP
Kanbay Inc.
Kansas City development council
KCI Computering, inc.
Kinsella Boesch Fujikawa llp
Kitsune Inc.
KMpG peat marwick llp
Kraim International inc.

Latham & Watkins llp
lee hecht harrison
Lek/Alcar Consulting Group
Liebert Associates inc.
logicon information corporation
Logicon Ultra Systems inc.
Los angeles police department
M1 Software inc.
Macco corporation
MascoTech-Norris corporation
Maxicare healthcare
McDonnell Douglas info systems
MCI communications corporation
mci systemhouse, inc.
Memco Software inc.
mercer Meidinger Hansen
Microsoft corporation
microvisions corporation
Millington & Associates
Mindatlas pty. ltd.
mirage networks, inc.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius llp
Motek systems inc.
nasa
Navisite corporation
Nevada Development Commission
nextera inc.
NI Industries Inc.
Norman Kreiger Inc.
Norris Environmental services inc.
Northrop grumman Corporation
northrop grumman data systems
Nossaman Guthner
Novell corporation

Omniplan Corporation
One Community, Inc.
pacific architects & engineers
Pacific Partners Inc.
Pacific States Casualty INS. co.
Palko Advertising inc.
panda software (Usa) inc.
parker Milliken Clark llp
PBS Corporation
PC Dynamics inc.
pcc consultants inc.
pdc Inc.
Peoples Associates inc.
PeopleSoft Inc.
Petra corporation
pettit & Martin
Physical Optics corporation
Pinnacle Strategy Group
pivotal corporation
plancorp project management
Platinum Software Corporation
Polak International
Preferred Health Network
Price Waterhouse llp
Progressive Business Systems
prolific consulting inc.
PSCA, Inc.

Rackspace Enterprise Hosting INC.
RAINBOW TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Rand corporation
Red Brick Systems Inc.
remotenet corporation
rICOH eLECTRONICS, iNC.
Right Associates
Riviera Finance
RMA Associates
rockwell international
Rockwell Aerospace corporation
Rollins Hudig Hall
Roy F. Weston Inc.
Royal Danish Consulate
Safenet corporation
Science Applications International
sientifix corporation
Satulah Group
Schick Organization
SCS Engineers inc.
SCT inc.
SELECTICA INC.
sequent computers corporation
Service Intelligence Corporation
San francisco police department
Sidley & Austin llp
SIEGEWORKS INC.
Sierra Monitor Corporation
sierra systems inc.
SOFTWARE ag
Solarchem Environmental ltd.
Solsoft, Inc.
Solutions Plus inc.
southern California gas company
Spectria, Inc.
SSP litronic, INC.
state of Arizona
State of California
state of Oregon
State of Nevada
Steelcase corporation
Sterling Software corporation
storagetek corporation
Stradling Yocca Carlson llp
sullivan curtis monroe llp
sygate technologies, inc.
Symantec corporation
SYSTEM CENTRIX INC..
teamone employment services
techgnosis inc.
Teknowledge corporation
THE SEGAL COMPANY
Townsend & Townsend llp
Triadigm International
unicare healthcare inc.
united nations business council
URS environmental Inc.
USPCI
Vision Consulting USA, Inc.
Waldowski stunkel & arendt
watson wyatt worldwide
Webridge inc.
WEIL & COMPANY
WESTECH GEAR CORPORATION
Western Medical Review
Whittaker Controls inc.
Wiggins & Co.
William M. Mercer & co.
Wilson Technologies Inc.
WorldFree, Inc.
XIonics corporation

This is a partial list of the Organizations, Governments
and Corporations that have sponsored speakers for
Business Forum Luncheons, Debates & Conferences

John Hathaway-Bates moderates the majority of our meetings and has done for more than 25 years

John H. Hathaway-Bates
President & Executive Director

On February 14th, 1982, John Hathaway-Bates founded The Business Forum in Beverly Hills, California. At the time of establishing The Business Forum John was recognized as a Commercial Tactician with wide experience on four continents having served as President, or Corporate Vice President, for several multi-national Corporations. He was elected a Fellow of the British Society of Commerce, the Institute of Buyers, the British Institute of Directors, the British Institute of Administrative Accountants, the Institute of Purchasing and Supply; and was elected to be a member of the Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Management and the Institute of Journalists. He has written many articles and several books, including :"Tactics". "How to Promote Your Business", "How to Organize Your Marketing" and "Fast Track Marketing in a Global Economy", he also wrote the "Contract Procedure and Specification Advice" sections of the Architect's & Specifier's Guide Series for A4 Publications, Ltd. and innovated and wrote for The Office Planner published by Benn Brothers of London; he has also had published several articles on "Color, Texture & Design", and he wrote the "Executive Guide to Office Space Planning & Design" for the American Management Association. He has had published many other works in Europe and America and has lectured in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, at Universities and to professional audiences on subjects that have ranged from multi-national accounting practices, to business development, to office management, industrial, interior, product and commercial design to tactical and strategic international marketing and management. He has also written and lectured on etiquette and business ethics.

Business Forum Luncheon held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California in 1982
The first Business Forum Luncheon, held in 1982 at
The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California

It is impossible for ideas to compete in the marketplace if no forum for their presentation is provided or available. Thomas Mann, 1896

World Information

Our World Information Section will tell you everything you want to know about every Country in the World, including a few that have not yet been recognized by the United Nations.