WAUKESHA – The fourth annual Wisconsin Tech Summit will launch Monday with a panel discussion on what major firms want to see when meeting with emerging companies – and tips for smaller firms on how to get the most out of their “BigCo” encounters.

Sujeet Chand of Rockwell Automation, Dave Grandin from Kiio and Vivek Bhatt from conference host GE Healthcare will talk about their experiences at past Tech Summits and what participants can expect from this year’s “speed-dating” event, which will be held at the GE Healthcare Institute, N16W22419 Watertown Rd., Waukesha.

General registration is open through 5 p.m. Thursday for the Tech Summit, which will feature a series of 15-minute meetings between 15 major companies and nearly 50 emerging firms, as well as seven “Office Hours” sessions with industry experts, a featured speaker and a closing reception with remarks from Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. Visit www.wistechsummit.com for the full line-up.

“With three Tech Summits under our belts, we’ve learned a lot about how major firms and emerging companies should exchange information, how to follow up and how to set expectations,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which produces the event. “Those lessons can apply far beyond the confines of a structured conference.”

Participating major firms thus far include Aurora Health Care, BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Dedicated Computing, Direct Supply, Exact Sciences, GE Healthcare, HP Enterprise Services, Johnson Controls, Marshfield Clinic Information Services, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Promega, Racine Metal-Fab, Rockwell Automation, TECHNIPLAS and UW-Madison Research Pathways. The emerging companies are now available for review with location, website and industry type at www.wistechsummit.com.

Key features of the event will include:

  • The opening panel discussion, sponsored by Husch Blackwell;
  • Office Hours, informative seminars hosted by experts, with topics sure to appeal to all attendees;
  • An afternoon talk by Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager for Renaissance Venture Capital Fund in Michigan;
  • A continental breakfast, networking lunch and onsite reception sponsored by Enbridge.

Sponsors thus far include Advanced Materials Industrial Consortium; American Family Insurance; American Transmission Co.; AT&T; Baird Capital; BloodCenter of Wisconsin; Dedicated Computing; Enbridge; Findorff; GE Healthcare; HP Enterprise Services; Husch Blackwell; Marshfield Clinic Information Services; River Valley Bank; UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations; UWM Research Foundation; von Briesen & Roper; Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.; and WTN Media.