WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today announced that he will be hosting the first biannual Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Bozeman this fall.
The Summit, sponsored by Daines, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Montana Chamber of Commerce, will take place at Montana State University on September 13 and 14 and will feature Safra Catz, Chief Executive Officer of Oracle, among other national tech and business leaders.
“Working at RightNow Technologies, I experienced firsthand the opportunity that technology gives us to grow jobs right here in Montana,” said Senator Daines. “Technology has removed geography as a constraint and has allowed Montana’s high-tech sector to grow. The Montana High Tech Jobs Summit will serve as a great opportunity to capitalize on this growing industry and create even more opportunities for good-paying Montana jobs.”
The Montana High Tech Jobs Summit will serve as a unique opportunity to bring together the nation’s tech leaders in the hub of Montana’s growing technology sector. The Summit will highlight Montana’s growing role in the nation’s high-tech economy and serve as an opportunity to discuss ways to create more good-paying Montana tech jobs.
A study by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research showed that Montana’s high-tech jobs are growing eight to ten times faster than Montana’s statewide job growth rate – with average wages of more than twice the median statewide income. Last year, 40 percent of the wage growth in Montana occurred in Gallatin County which has emerged as a hub of high-tech growth in Montana.
Before being elected to Congress, Daines spent 13 years working in the technology sector. He helped grow RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman-based technology company, into a global leader in cloud computing. The company grew rapidly to 17 offices around the world and software products in more than 30 languages. Oracle acquired RightNow in 2012 and remains one of Montana’s largest commercial employers.
More information about the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit and a comprehensive agenda are forthcoming.
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