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98 YEARLY REPORT

What's New at The Thompson Group?

IKON Office Solutions acted as title sponsor for the second year of the "Ride for the Roses," a fund-raising weekend benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The IKON Ride for the Roses attracted over 6,000 participants in multiple venues including bicycle races and a concert, and raised over $300,000. IKONselected The Thompson Group to maximize event exposure, and to act as a liaison between IKON's senior management team and Austin business leaders.

Women in Technology International (WITI), a fast-growing Silicon Valley-headquartered organization, established an Austin chapter in 1997. The Thompson Group was selected to supply panelists, sponsors and attendees for this organization's Austin conference (Many Thompson Group Clients gained valuable exposure as a result). Nearly 1,000 women from the high-tech sector (and a handful of enlightened men) attended the conference, which was chaired by Carol Thompson and featured Michael Dell as the keynote speaker. Carol also chaired panels at WITI for their Atlanta, San Jose and Boston conferences.

San Diego-based Business Builders held a conference in Austin in April for entrepreneurs in search of alternative sources of private capital. The Thompson Group recruited sponsors, including Norwest Bank, Maxwell, Locke & Ritter and Arnold, White & Durkee. Over 50 executives attended this first-time event, and we're pleased to have contributed to its success.

The Austin Children's Museum held their second-annual Women's Luncheon in May, and raised a record $105,860. The Thompson Group helped lay the initial groundwork for the event, co-hosted by Carol Thompson and Merrily Gullquist of Southwestern Bell. The effort has grown into one of the most successful charitable fund-raisers in Austin.

Carol Thompson is well-known for her commitment to personal growth and development and her passion for developing leaders. In June, The Thompson Group initiated a national conference series called "Inspiring Work" for over 100 participants at the Austin Country Club. Topics included life-long learning, career development, communication techniques and achieving personal and professional balance. "Inspiring Work" was the brainchild of Carol Thompson, and The Thompson Group plans to host several of these conferences across the US in 1999.

In July, more than 200 people from the technology community took part in a truly one-of-a-kind event, "Techies for Tommy." The Thompson Group, the American Electronics Association, the Austin Software Council and the Technology Advisors Group hosted a private showing of Zachary Scott Theatre's acclaimed production of The Who's "Tommy." The Thompson Group developed the event to enable individuals from different technology industries to share insights and ideas, while raising their awareness of professional theatre in Austin. We're happy to report a jump in Zachary Scott season ticket sales, as well.

Austin welcomed a national technology industry tour in September called "The Next 20 Years: an industry insiders' sneak preview of the future." This event included a trade show of hot technology companies featuring their most advanced products and a networking reception. The Thompson Group had the honor of introducing several representatives from national companies to Austin's technology elite in preparation for the event. More than 700 people attended this unique gathering at La Zona Rosa, and Silicon Valley Bank, Baker & Botts and the Austin Technology Incubator each featured a leading high-tech client. "The Next 20 Years" also visited Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston.

KPMG Peat Marwick hosted their third-annual Austin High Tech Awards in November, honoring the leading innovators of industry and products in the high-tech community. KMPG and The Thompson Group have worked together each of the three years, building this year's event into a sellout crowd of more than 700 people. The winners recognized this year included 3M, Acuity, AMD, Harte-Hanks, Micro-media Solutions and Smart Technologies.

Softex Austin (the Brazilian Society for Promoting Software Exports) celebrated the grand opening of their Austin office in November with a VIP reception for Austin's software community and a presentation to business, technology and education leaders. The Thompson Group assisted Softex in gaining status as one of the first international entries into the Austin Technology Incubator, and will guide Softex in developing strategic business alliances in Austin.

In November, Silicon Valley Bank celebrated their many successful partnerships with Austin high-tech companies and their fourth anniversary in the Texas marketplace. The Thompson Group takes great pride in having been Silicon Valley Bank's liaison to Austin's high-tech leaders throughout these successful four years.

A Fall announcement with national implications certainly tops the list of our 1998 business community highlights. On a November morning on the shores of Town Lake, Mayor Kirk Watson announced to a small gathering of Austin business leaders that FORTUNE Magazine named Austin "the best city for business in North America." Carol Thompson was selected as one of a handful of Austin business representatives on hand for this memorable event of national significance.

A new program that recognizes Austin's outstanding young leaders was established in 1998, called "Austin Under Forty." Nearly 500 individuals from business, athletics, entertainment and charities were recognized at an awards banquet in February. The Thompson Group was on a committee to select notable honorees who included Lance Armstrong, Michael Dell, Christy Jones and Cindy Figg-Courier. Co-sponsored by the Young Men's Business League and the Young Women's Alliance, proceeds of Austin Under Forty benefit the Austin Sunshine Camps.

Looking toward 1999

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has undergone a comprehensive re-organization in 1998, positioning itself, its staff and its volunteers to lead our business community into the millennium. The Chamber is now organized into ten industry clusters, including software, semiconductor, computers & peripherals, multimedia and biomedical. Industry representatives will volunteer to lead these clusters, dealing with their specific issues and challenges. For more information, call the Chamber lobby at 478-9383 to ask for the economic development division's industry cluster report.

In 1998, the Thompson Group created and developed a new kind of networking organization called Young Guns to help participants develop leadership skills, as well as potential business leads. Young Guns is an organization of 30 dedicated professionals, ages 25-40, committed to increasing the business success of each member. Members are actively involved in the Greater Austin business community and have a developed professional network. Young Guns meet monthly to discuss business referrals, professional challenges and community opportunities. Several Thompson Group clients have employees in Young Guns, including Silicon Valley Bank, Woodruff-Sawyer, SicolaMartin and SLI Group. The Austin invasion of professional service providers from the East & West Coasts continued in 1998. Multitudes of law firms, venture capital firms, investment bankers, real estate companies and public relations firms all opened offices in Austin, anxious to serve the ever-growing number of Austin high-tech start-ups.