Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 18, 2014 -- Leaders of Los Angeles’ innovation, technology, and creative communities and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) today launched inLA™ (Innovate Los Angeles)—a non-profit organization focused on galvanizing, accelerating and promoting the innovation economy in Los Angeles County. inLA is a membership organization comprised of leaders of technology companies, venture capital firms, serial entrepreneurs, major universities and growth-focused professional services firms who share a common vision for expanding and improving Los Angeles’s growth economy and attaining recognition as the world’s hub for boundless creativity and inspired innovation. Through its work, inLA will promote Los Angeles County as a leading global center for innovation and entrepreneurship, and take action to spur company and job creation in the regional innovation economy.
inLA is led by an Executive Council comprised of CEOs of established growth companies, venture capital partners, serial entrepreneurs, university representatives and professional service providers with a combined 250+ years working in Los Angeles’ innovation ecosystem. Each of these leaders believes in L.A.’s innovation economy and volunteered to help identify, develop and execute against actionable and performance-based goals in the areas of Access to Capital, Public Policy, Networking, Promoting L.A.’s unique Narrative, and Attracting and Retaining Talent. “inLA’s goal is to improve the overall business environment in Greater Los Angeles, strengthen its growing “idea economy” and increase awareness of Los Angeles as a top destination for talented innovators and investment,” said inLA Co-Chair David Hernand.
inLA draws on the talent, findings, and agenda of the former Los Angeles Mayor’s Council on Innovation and Industry (LAMCII), and now leverages the economic development strengths of LAEDC as one of its supported programs. LAMCII delivered its first report in December of 2012, which proposed several ideas for improving LA’s regional growth economy. “Los Angeles has such a rich and vibrant history of creative innovation, from The Mars Rover to Space X; from the first ever Internet node to the groundbreaking innovation that our startup community is investing in today,” said Zack Zalon, Co-Chair of inLA. “Our partnership with the LAEDC gives us a powerful new platform from which to share how strongly LA's innovation ecosystem factors in the future of the region, and how strongly it influences the rest of the country as well."
Leading inLA’s Executive Council are Co-Chairs David Hernand and Zack Zalon, Vice-Chairs Todd Gitlin and James McDermott, and Marketing Chair Jimmy O’Mahony. Former Director of LAMCII Amy Amsterdam is continuing as Director of inLA with responsibility for day-to-day operations and support. inLA invites all participants in the Los Angeles innovation economy to join inLA as members and support its programs. inLA hopes to bring and bind together the numerous voices in our community to create a chorus of support for L.A.’s innovation economy.
InLA’s Executive Council is comprised of:
Frank Addante (Rubicon Project)
Paul Bricault (Amplify)
Tim Cadogan (OpenX)
Brendon Cassidy (WilshireAxon)
Randy Churchill (Cooley)
Allen DeBevoise (Machinima)
Debra Domeyer (Oversee)
Gil Elbaz (Factual)
Todd Gitlin (Safire Partners)
David Hernand (Cooley)
Krisztina Holly (World Economic Forum)
Mike Jones (Science)
Scott Lahman (Gogii/TextPlus)
Howard Marks (StartEngine)
Jim McDermott (US Renewables)
Adam Miller (Cornerstone OnDemand)
Sean Moriarty (Saatchi Art)
Jimmy O’Mahony (Fixt)
Kamran Pourzanjani (Bestcovery)
Eric Pulier (SOA/ServiceMesh)
Robin Richards (Internships.com)
Tara Roth (Goldhirsh Foundation)
Mark Suster (GRP)
Jake Winebaum (Brighter)
Bill Woodward (Anthem VP)
Zack Zalon (Wilshire Axon)
About inLA
inLA is a membership organization comprised of leaders of technology companies, venture capital firms, serial entrepreneurs, major universities and growth-focused professional services firms who share a common vision for expanding and improving Los Angeles’s growth economy and attaining recognition as the world’s hub for boundless creativity and inspired innovation. http://www.inLA.org
About the LAEDC
The LAEDC, the region’s premier economic development leadership organization, is a private, non-profit organization established in 1981 under section 501(c)(3). Its mission is to attract, retain, and grow business and jobs for the regions of Los Angeles County. Since 1996, the LAEDC has helped to retain or attract over 190,000 annual jobs in Los Angeles County with an estimated labor income, including wages and benefits, of approximately $12 billion. Learn more at http://www.laedc.org.
Lawren Markle, Economic Development Corp of LA, http://www.LAEDC.org, +1 626-773-2325, [email protected]
SOURCE Economic Development Corp of LA
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