Building “Silicon Shire”: The Tech Economy of the Southern Willamette Valley
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: WOW Hall
291 W 8th
Eugene, Oregon
97401
We will meet at the WOW Hall, 291 W 8th. Learn more: https://wowhall.org/about-us/. Walk, ride a bike or take the bus. You may park on the street or in the parking lot of FOOD for Lane County's Dining Room, across 8th from the WOW Hall. A freewill donation acknowledging the Dining Room's generosity may be made at the meeting.
Lunch will be available for $15.
Topic:
Lane County is home to over 500 technology companies, which employ nearly 4,000 people, bringing over $284 million dollars in wages. These companies run the gamut – from spinoffs emerging from the University of Oregon and its investment in cutting edge biotechnology at the Knight Campus, to more mature companies developing the next generation of video games and beyond.
In this program – part of City Club’s ongoing series on the sectors driving our local economy – we’ll dive deep into the depth and breadth of the “Silicon Shire” with a panel of local business owners and experts.
Note: Slides mentioned during the program may be viewed on the video version of the program (starts at 8:30): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uDtzQdi9-U.
Speakers
Title: Owner and President
Organization: WRICO Generators
Website: https://www.wricogenerators.com/
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Hogon Mulgrave is the owner and president of WRICO Generators, a company focused on delivering reliable, high-quality power generation solutions.
With a background in engineering and business development, Hogon has led WRICO through key growth phases, ensuring operational efficiency and compliance while prioritizing customer satisfaction.
Since acquiring WRICO in 2023, he has worked closely with industry partners and government contractors to expand the company’s reach, offering tailored solutions to meet diverse power generation needs.
Title: President & CEO
Organization: Technology Association of Oregon
Website: https://www.techoregon.org/
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Skip Newberry is the President and CEO of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO) and a frequent speaker on topics related to technology and entrepreneurship, tech policy, economic development, workforce, public-private-academic partnerships and civic innovation.
Before founding TAO, Skip was an economic development policy advisor to Portland Mayor Sam Adams, where he helped create Portland’s first comprehensive economic development strategy in 16 years, recognizing software as a key industry cluster.
Skip serves on the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council, the Workforce & Talent Development Board, the advisory board for the OSU Advantage Accelerator, and several community-based organizations in the Portland area.
Skip is a 2011 recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists First Freedom award, a 2012 recipient of the Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award and a 2020 recipient of the Oregon League of Minority Voters Liberty & Hope award.
Title: Vice President, Research and Innovation
Organization: University of Oregon
Website: https://cas.uoregon.edu/directory/computer-science-faculty/all/razdan
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Anshuman Razdan (“AR”) is the vice president for research and innovation (VPRI) at the University of Oregon. He began serving as VPRI on July 1, 2022.
Before becoming VPRI, AR served as the associate vice president of research development at the University of Delaware, where he established three research core facilities, the UD Data Science Institute, and helped secure millions of dollars in research funding across the board.
Prior to his time at the University of Delaware, he was a professor (now emeritus) and center director in School of Computing Informatics Decision Science and Engineering at Arizona State University for 20 years. AR received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kurukshetra University (now National Institute of Technology) in India in 1986, a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University in 1988, and his doctorate in computer science from Arizona State University in 1995. AR also holds a tenured faculty appointment in the University of Oregon College of Arts of Sciences.
Title: Co-Founder
Organization: Pipeworks
Website: https://www.pipeworks.com/
Biography:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Dan White moved to Eugene in 1972 and graduated from South Eugene High in 1984. After college and graduate school, he returned to Eugene to start a tech company, which failed. He then started another tech company in 1994, which also failed. He then turned his attention to Dynamix from 1995-1999, before founding Pipeworks in 1999 with a friend, where he has worked ever since.
Pipeworks is currently owned by Jagex (makers of Runescape) and has around 200 employees, half of whom live/work in Oregon.
