Iowa Independent » Business

CNBC names Iowa 4th best state for business

Lynda Waddington — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:04:36 +0000

Citing Iowa’s low unemployment rate and nearly nonexistent foreclosure crisis, analysts at CNBC announced today that the Hawkeye State has one of the best business climates in the nation.

In fact, the state’s first-place ranking in “cost of doing business” vaulted Iowa from ninth to fourth place overall in the business network’s national rankings for 2009.

The CNBC ranking system, now in its third year, is based on 40 individual measures placed within 10 categories: Cost of doing business, workforce, quality of life, economy, transportation and infrastructure, technology and innovation, education, business friendliness, access to capital and cost of living. (The categories are weighted based on how often states cited them in their own promotional material, aggregated across all states.)

Microsoft will delay Iowa data center

Lynda Waddington — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:48:33 +0000

A proposed $500 million data center in West Des Moines has been placed on hold by Microsoft.

The company announced last fall that it would reduce capital expenditures by $300 million, but provided few details which of three planned data centers would be impacted. Yesterday the company released it’s second quarter earnings for fiscal year 2009 and announced several cost management initiatives that included placing 5,000 jobs on the chopping block.

In a blog post today, Microsoft management team members Arne Josefsberg and Michael Manos detail how improved efficiencies at other data centers have allowed the company to delay construction in Iowa.

“[W]e’re postponing construction of the data center in Iowa that we recently purchased land for,” the managers wrote. “We are still continuing construction of our facilities in Chicago and Dublin, [Ireland] and are planning to open them as customer demand warrants.”

The company plans to begin monitoring expansion and efficiency on a quarter-by-quarter basis. No mention was made as to the reasoning the Iowa construction project was placed aside in favor of the other two.

Rumors about a possible delay or reconsideration of the Iowa project began circulating in October — just two months after Gov. Chet Culver announced the Microsoft data center. The company issued a press release that noted the upcoming data centers in Chicago and Dublin without comment about the future of the Iowa project.

The decision by Microsoft to consider an Iowa location was made, at least in part, by a legislative incentive package that passed overwhelmingly in February 2008. The package provided the company a six-year tax exemption on purchases of computers, equipment and electricity.

Clancey to Retire as Cedar Rapids Chamber President

Lynda Waddington — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:25:28 +0000

Lee Clancey, current president and chief executive officer of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, has announced that she will retire from that position, effective Sept. 1. Clancey was also the first woman elected as mayor in Cedar Rapids, a position she held for six years.

“I believe that women have the potential to be the kind of leaders who will shift paradigms, encourage and mentor others, and celebrate diversity,” Clancey said during the 2007 Women’s Equality Day celebration in Cedar Rapids. “It’s long past time for equal representation with women at the political table, in corporate American board rooms and in leadership positions at all levels. Not only are women wanted to run the nation, they are desperately needed to run it in order to bring important issues to the forefront.”

The chamber’s board of directors is in the process of establishing a search committee that will be led by Brad Hart, secretary for the board and an attorney with Bradley & Riley PC. Officials are not ruling out the possibility of using an executive recruitment firm to assist in “a comprehensive, national search.” Clancey will assist in the search effort, according to Allen Witt, chairman-elect of the board. He added that the group anticipates hiring a successor by late summer.

Fortune Magazine: Business Loves Hillary Clinton

Douglas Burns — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:49:28 +0000

Fortune Magazine's Nina Easton has an exhaustively reported piece this month showing that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is making major inroads with big business and landing some well-heeled supporters.

Corporate interests have long hedged their bets, but the former first lady who was demonized as something of baton-twirler for socialized medicine, is now assembling what Fortune assesses to be the broadest CEO support of any candidate in the presidential field.

Through persistence and patience, Clinton has assembled what is probably the broadest CEO support among the candidates, ranging from Wall Street to Hollywood, reports Fortune.

Here is a list of some of her supporters:

John Mack, CEO, Morgan Stanley. Winning over the longtime Republican sent a signal about Clinton's clout on Wall Street.

Sheryl Sandberg, vice president, global online sales, Google. "I was always hoping she'd run for president. She's uniquely qualified."

Steve Rattner, managing principal, Quadrangle Group. "I've been a longtime supporter of the Clintons. I knew I'd end up in her camp."

Steven Spielberg, co-founder, DreamWorks. The mogul co-hosted a fund-raiser at the home of News Corp. President Peter Chernin.

Haim Saban, CEO, Saban Capital Group. "I endorsed Hillary before Hillary decided to endorse herself. I'm on a mission."

James D. Robinson III, general partner, RRE Ventures. The former AmEx CEO likes her "breadth of experience, especially on the international level."