Guidewire Group Partners with French Foreign Trade Advisory Council to Present Innovate! 2005 French Technology Showcase.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Chris Shipley to co-host event featuring 40 up-and-coming French companies representative of "The New France."

Guidewire Group, a media company that helps smart technology companies launch innovative products into emerging markets, today announced it has joined forces with CCE, the French Foreign Trade Advisory Council, to present the Innovate! 2005 French Technology Showcase, which will be held May 24-25 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood Shores, Calif.

The executive gathering will include senior technology executives and investors who will meet 40 of France's most innovative early-and-mid-stage private technology companies with specific plans for establishing business operations and relationships in Silicon Valley. The event comes to Silicon Valley as part of "The New France," an initiative that represents several new reforms that make it easier and more profitable for international companies to expand business operations in France.

"France was recently recognized as the second most popular destination in the world for business investment - a strong sign of the immense growth of early adopters and a growing R&D market," said Chris Shipley, the event host and well-known producer of the DEMO conferences. "With recent legislative reforms in France, such as changes to the 35-hour work week and laws governing labor agreements, we've seen tremendous positive momentum around bringing great French innovations to the global market."

Shipley and a team of influential French executives and entrepreneurs chose the 40 presenting companies for their pioneering features, ability to grow quickly and readiness for the U.S. market. Along with Jean-Bernard Guerree, managing director of Avise Partners and president of CCE North West America, Shipley will host the French Technology Showcase and moderate several panel discussions.

"The New France is a real and growing world economic force," Guerree said. "The timing of the first-ever French Technology Showcase couldn't be more appropriate, and I'm proud to be part of bringing such promising companies to Silicon Valley. We're also very grateful to our sponsors, without whom this event wouldn't be possible."

The Innovate! 2005 French Technology Showcase will feature a series of panel discussions with prominent business and technology leaders. Speakers include senior executives from the United States and France who have built successful U.S.-French alliances, as well as a number of prominent technology leaders who will share their insights into the French technology ecosystem.

Highlights include the opening session with Clara Gaymard, president of Invest in France Agency and Ambassador-at-Large, in addition to panel discussions such as French Start-Ups, Business in France: Perception v. Reality, Opening the French Market to U.S. Startups, and The French Invasion: Entrepreneurs in the Valley.

The Innovate! 2005 French Technology Showcase is being co-produced by Guidewire Group and the French Foreign Trade Advisory Council (CCE) and is being sponsored by Paris Europlace, Invest in France Agency, Kahn and Associes, Paris Region, Paris Development, ANVAR, AXA, and Avise Partners. For more information about the event, visit www.frenchtechshowcase.com.

About Guidewire Group

Guidewire Group focuses obsessively on market-making ideas and technology products, bringing the right people together at the right time with the right information, to accelerate market development and business opportunity. As a global media company creating events and online media, Guidewire Group helps entrepreneurs - and those who support them - navigate the challenging terrain that leads from innovation to market value.

About the French Foreign Trade Advisory Council (CCE)

CCE is a group of French corporate executives with a wealth of international experience. CCE members are appointed by the French Prime Minister for three years and represent a network of 3,400 members.