Michael Goguen, a venture capitalist and philanthropist who has a home in Whitefish, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Bozeman.
Goguen will be a featured speaker at the summit co-sponsored by Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. The event is Sept. 13-14 at Montana State University. Goguen is slated to speak on Sept. 14 along with Doug Burgum, a co-founder and general partner at Arthur Ventures. This will be the first biannual high tech summit and is following in the footsteps of former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus’s Montana’s Jobs Summit.
The event aims to bring together the nation’s tech leaders in the hub of Montana’s growing technology sector and discuss ways to create more good-paying Montana tech jobs, Daines stated.
“I’m excited to announce Doug Burgum and Michael Goguen will be joining us as keynote speakers at the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit. Each of these individuals bring incredible perspective into how business and technology can come together to create jobs and improve outcomes,” said Daines. “In Montana, we’re seeing that geography doesn’t need to stand in the way of success. Michael and Doug have built new job opportunities and successful businesses by working with infant high tech companies and giving them the needed push to become industry-leading organizations. I’m looking forward to what they will bring to the Summit.”
Goguen is a managing partner at Sequoia Capital where he specializes in enterprise IT, infrastructure, cybersecurity and chip investments and has aided over 60 companies with start-up support. Sequoia Capital was an original investor in Apple, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, among many others. Goguen has a home in Whitefish, where he spends much of his time. His local contributions include two world-class search and rescue helicopters; helping fund the expansion of the North Valley Food Bank; and protecting nearly 2,500 acres of land known as The Whitefish Trail for the public to enjoy.
The Beacon wrote a profile of Goguen in late 2012. He delivered the keynote address at last year’s Glacier Startup Weekend in Kalispell.