Virginia Tech Council Elects EDS VP George Newstrom

EDS Corporate Vice President George Newstrom will chair the Virginia Technology Council, which Gov. George Allen has assigned to develop the state's technology-based economic growth strategy.

As the statewide tech council's first chairman, Newstrom will head an 18-member group chartered by the legislature and championed by the governor as Virginia's leadership element for economic revitalization.

"The key to the state's prosperity will be in expanding the number of high-technology businesses and jobs," said Newstrom, who pointed out that in Northern Virginia alone technology jobs directly account for 16 percent of employment and 22 percent of income. "The VTC can and must play a crucial role," he said.

Newstrom outlined a four-point agenda, saying VTC will work closely with local and regional technology councils to access statewide resources; facilitate technology-oriented strategies under Allen's "Opportunity Virginia" economic development program; foster a productive and positive relationship with the Center for Innovative Technology; and prepare an annual report on the state of technology enterprise within the Commonwealth.

Also serving as VTC officers will be Richmond attorney Kirk T. Schroder, vice chairman; Tapestry Consultants President Rosemarie Piepenhagen, Leesburg, secretary; and Valerie Perlowitz, president of Fairfax's Reliable Integration Services, treasurer.

Newstrom, a 20-year veteran of EDS, is responsible for the company's government business as well as its commercial services unit. He sits on the advisory board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, volunteers with United Way and is a member of the Business/Industry Advisory Council for the Fairfax County Public Schools.