"It
is impossible for ideas to compete in the marketplace if no forum for
their presentation is provided or available." Thomas Mann, 1896
Welcome
The Business Forum has, for more than a quarter of a Century, organized interactive meetings in a wide variety of formats, where it brings together senior decision makers to share lunch and discuss any subject a sponsor wishes to bring to the table. We also publish White Papers from respected Corporate, Academic and Government organizations: and a World Information web site to provide unbiased and uncensored information for anyone who values freedom of speech and knowledge.
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 new technologies, products, services, philosophies and ideas, while gaining the opportunity to educate ourselves. The Business Forum has always been, and always shall be, an unaffiliated, independent organization, that shall be dedicated to being an unbiased source of information for decision makers in the Pacific States of America and, with this web site, we hope to decision makers around the World.
Today, with members, supporters and sponsors located all around the planet, this web site has been developed to allow decision makers in other countries to benefit from our programs, even if they may rarely have the opportunity to actually attend one of our luncheons or meetings in person.
A quarter of a Century ago several of us decided that
sitting through a carefully orchestrated sales presentation did not really serve our
real needs for learning much about anything. So we reversed the accepted system
of providing information as it was 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", and then agree to open the conversation by
allowing our guests to question the vendor and the meeting to take place under
the control of a moderator who would maintain a civil and meaningful
discussion. If nothing else, we saw that
we would learn what our peers were concerned about, thereby allowing us to return to our
own organizations and investigate whether or not we should be concerned about it
also. What happened after that is history . . . .
We have developed a program where any
organization can sponsor a meeting where we are able to assemble a group of
experts, or potential clients, to be a sounding board for any changes, new products or services the organization wants
to gain input on prior to
making any great investment of time and capital. We have also helped
organizations gain acceptance and sales that we never imagined back in 1982,
to the point that some of the start-ups we helped launch are today known
throughout the world. We have done it
for some of the best known organizations in the world. Look at
the partial list of the corporations, governments and organizations that have sponsored our meetings
over the last quarter of a
century.
The
Business Forum for more than twenty five years, 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
being that at the
forums
we organize 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. In
this manner we
are able to
help each other find solutions to
current problems and thereby help to engineer change and advancement.
That The Business Forum Concept works,
is well proven by the list of sponsors shown on
this page who have worked with us over the years; their testimonials and the
comments of the decision makers who attend
our forums as guests; and the fact that we have grown as we have, 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
Business 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
also believe in our concept 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.
Most
importantly though, because it pays operating costs, we are supported
by people from all over the world with small donations.
They obviously believe that what we are
doing can help the world to be a better place. We are also grateful to our
Members
both individuals and organizations who believe as we do, that
freedom to unbiased information and civilized and honest debate is the epitome of free speech, skills
enhancement and the only fuel for a successful and prosperous society.
Thank you all.
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
Using The Business Forum to make the arrangements for them, anyone in the world can fly into town and set up a system of networking right away.
George Tice,
General Manager
Los Angeles
County, California
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
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
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
I believe
that The Business Forum provides a unique and 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
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 on what we do, go to either GUESTS or CLIENTS
Knowledge is the Foundation of all Success
The Founders of The Business Forum
The Etiquette of Formal & Business Dining
War, Insurrection, Terrorism & Genocide
Reports from around the World
Personal for Friends & Members Only
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:
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The Business Forum
Beverly Hills, California United States of AmericaEmail: john@bizforum.org
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© Copyright bizforum.org Inc. 1982 - 2009 All rights reserved.
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 L.A.
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
Ameriprise Financial
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
California department of insurance
California mfg technology center
California export office
California - OFFICE OF 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.
-12-20-2005-pic.jpg)
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
New
Momentum, Inc.
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
TriCipher, Inc.
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
Zeus Technology, Inc.
This is a
partial
list of the Organizations, Governments
and Corporations that have sponsored speakers for
Business Forum Luncheons, Debates &
Conferences
John
Hathaway-Bates still moderates
the majority of our meetings as he
has done for
more than 25 years.
John H. Hathaway-Bates
John was born and educated in Oxford, England. He served with
the Royal Air Force in the late 1950’s in Africa and the Middle East.
During the 1960’s he was the lead singer with The Tribe, and later with The
Foundation in Britain.
In the 1960's and the 1970’s he was recognized as one of the
top
commercial Interior Designers in Britain, and worked on projects for many multi-national corporations, restaurants and
several academic institutions.
He
wrote the "Contract Procedure and Specification Advice" sections of the
Architect's and Specifier's Guide Series (A4 Publications, Ltd.) and
he innovated and wrote for The Office Planner (Benn Brothers Ltd.) He has
also had published several articles on "Color, Texture & Design", and
wrote a weekly column for Westminster
Newspapers Ltd.
He also
wrote the "Executive Guide to Office Space Planning & Design" (American
Management Association.)
John moved to the United States of America in 1979; and in
1982 he founded The Business Forum in Beverly Hills, California. At the
time of establishing The Business Forum, John was recognized as a Commercial
Tactician with experience on four continents, having served as President,
Managing Director or Corporate Vice President for several
Corporations.
John has during his career been 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 British Institute of Marketing,
the Institute of Management and the British Institute of Journalists.
He has
written several books, that include: ”Tactics" (Nerthus
Publications)), "How to Promote Your Business" and "How to Organize Your
Marketing" (Asigan International), and "Fast Track Marketing in a
Global Economy"
(Van
Nostrum Reinhold) He has
had published many articles in Europe
and America and has lectured on four Continents at
Universities and to professional audiences on subjects ranging from
international accounting, office management and interior design to
international marketing and management.
John has
also written and lectured
on etiquette and business ethics. He is also a professional artist
with regular exhibitions and his paintings hang
today in many countries around the world.
President & Executive Director
The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Our World Information Section will tell you all you want to know about every Country in the World, including some that have not yet been formally recognized by the United Nations.