Tag: Mayor Eric Garcetti

Vice President Joe Biden Visits LACI

Posted on November 17, 2015 by - N-News

Fred H. Walti, II, CEO, LACI, United States Vice President Joe Biden, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
VP, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LACI CEO Fred Walti Take Part in Cleantech Roundtable

On Monday November 16, Vice President of the United States Joe Biden visited the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to take part in a roundtable discussion with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LACI CEO Fred Walti and a panel of investors and entrepreneurs to discuss jobs and clean technology.

Panelists included LADWP General Manager Marcie Edwards, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development Kelli Bernard, LACI Board Members Jim McDermott, Richard Morganstern and David Nahai, TCW Managing Director Tom Soto, as well as several entrepreneurs from LACI’s portfolio of companies, who got the Vice President’s ear for a few minutes while getting to share with him their innovative technologies.

Biden’s visit gave Mayor Garcetti and LACI’s Fred Walti a chance to show off the newly opened La Kretz Innovation Campus, a facility built and owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and now LACI’s home in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles. Garcetti’s opening remarks highlighted the features of the new facility and the impact La Kretz will have on the economy and the cleantech landscape in Los Angeles.

“LACI recognizes that while we face global challenges, what we need are local solutions. Solutions like this… in every city,” said Mayor Garcetti in his opening remarks. “It offers our entrepreneurs, our future workers, our students, our innovators, our darers and our doers 60,000 square feet of space that is theirs to explore the possibilities of what tomorrow may look like.”

“This is where the magic happens…invention, innovation, incubation,” said LACI’s Fred Walti. “This (La Kretz) is a unique place to build a company…a cleantech entrepreneur can take an idea, do research, go down the hall and prototype, then go across the hall to LADWP, and test and get an idea certified…then get a chance to get the idea to marketplace. There’s no other place like this… this is the model for the future.”

Vice President Biden praised the efforts of the Mayor, LACI, and the entrepreneurs sitting at the roundtable. “This incubator brings together innovative minds with the courage to take a chance on a new idea…you have a mayor with a vision…a sense of optimism,” said Biden. There’s power in an incubator… using science and technology to take an idea from paper to product to the marketplace.”

Participating LACI portfolio companies included LACI CIO Ian Gardner from CAGIX, Ka Suen of Chai Energy, Arcady Sosinov of FreeWire Technologies, Chris Blevins of Pick My Solar, Lauren Gropper of Repurpose Compostables and John Walsh of Vena Water.

Biden went on to stress building unity and consensus in pursuing an innovation economy and moving our nation forward, telling the entrepreneurs, “You represent the future.”

A New International Partnership in Support of Cleantech Entrepreneurs

Posted on November 3, 2015 by - N-News

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Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and MaRS Cleantech announce a new international partnership in support of Cleantech entrepreneurs

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 3, 2015) — Tuesday was the dawning of a new international collaboration as the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and MaRS Cleantech, a division of MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, have announced an co-operation agreement aimed at increasing the adoption of clean technologies and the advancement of a sustainable future for both cites.

LACI and MaRS Cleantech will focus on several joint programs aimed at advancing cleantech innovation globally, including the development of a reciprocal “Landing Pad” program, enabling cleantech entrepreneurs to access programming, networks and platforms to assist companies in both Canadian and California markets.

In addition, the partnership will concentrate on projects such as the development of LACI’s Network for Global Innovation (NGIN), which brings together innovation institutions around the world to provide access to customers and investors worldwide, share best practices and accelerate the commercialization of clean technology on a global scale.

The agreement was signed at the new La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown Los Angeles in an event co-hosted by VerdeXchange and LACI that featured remarks by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and a panel discussion featuring the topic Cleantech Collaboration: California and Ontario, Canada.

“We’re delighted to announce this collaboration between hubs in Toronto and Los Angeles during Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s visit to California,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS. “Partnering with LACI will create opportunities for innovative cleantech companies in Canada and California to collaborate and grow globally.”

“We are thrilled to be entering into this co-operation agreement with one of Canada’s premier innovation institutions,” said Fred Walti, CEO, LACI. “Both LACI and MaRS are dedicated to helping cleantech innovators get their ideas to market — no matter where in the world that market is. This is an exciting example of the best kind of collaboration between two technology leaders and important trading partners.”
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to Deliver Keynote Address at GloSho15

Posted on October 1, 2015 by - N-News

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A long-time champion of sustainability and job creation, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will deliver the keynote address on the morning of October 21st, Day 1 of GloSho’15. In April, Mayor Garcetti released L.A.’s first-ever Sustainable City pLAn, a roadmap for accomplishing back to basics short-term results while establishing a path to strengthen and transform LA in the decades to come. By taking on the challenges of the environment, economy and equity together, the Mayor’s pLAn is moving the City of Los Angeles towards a truly sustainable future.

The Mayor’s address kicks off a day of programming featuring compelling keynote speakers, technology demonstrations, and high-level thought leadership panels, featuring top investors who will provide an insider’s perspective on the evolving Cleantech investment ecosystem. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an investor, no other Cleantech conference in North America brings you this kind of access to intellectual capital, business opportunities and investment.

Visit glosho.la frequently for the latest GloSho’15 program.
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LACI Wins Grant in SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition

Posted on August 5, 2015 by - N-News

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White House Cabinet Member Maria Contreras-Sweet, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) returned to her hometown Tuesday August 4th to visit the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown Los Angeles, celebrating LACI and the City of Los Angeles with a pair of awards that will directly impact L.A.’s small business community.

Ms. Contreras-Sweet presented CEO Fred Walti a check for LACI’s win in the SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, applauding LACI’s efforts working with small businesses and green job creation. The grant will help the organization further its mission of accelerating the commercialization of clean technology to grow the innovation economy and enhance its efforts to include a diversity initiative and more inclusive entrepreneurship for underserved Angelenos.

The SBA chose 80 winners from 400 applicants for the Growth Accelerator Fund. “The entrepreneurial ecosystem in America is incredibly exciting and very powerful,” said Javier Saade, Associate Administrator for Office of Investment and Innovation. “Administrator Contreras-Sweet and I welcome this year’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition winners and the important and inclusive work they do in support of innovative and high-growth small businesses.”

All in all, Tuesday was a win-win for LACI and the City of Los Angeles, as the City received the “Dream Big” Award in the SBA’s “Startup in a Day” Program, a grant which L.A. will use to build an open-source web portal aimed at streamlining business licensing and registration, enabling that process to take place in under 24 hours.
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Fred Walti commented, “We are honored that the SBA recognized both LACI and the City of Los Angeles this way, to invest in our efforts to create green jobs and help build a sustainable city.”

Read the full press release here: https://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/08/prweb12890657.htm
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SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, Victor Parker, District Director, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LACI CEO Fred H. Walti II – Presentation of “Dream Big” Award to City of LA
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Michael Swords, LACI VP Partnerships, Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator, Fred H. Walti II, LACI CEO – Tour La Kretz Innovation Campus
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