Steve Ballmer Tours Europe and Middle East
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer travels to Europe and the Middle East to meet with government officials, partners and customers in the Netherlands, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait, Poland and Denmark.
PARIS — 23 April 2007 — Steve Ballmer is travelling to the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in April 2007 for a tour of six countries. As part of the tour, he will highlight Microsoft’s contributions to local software economies. During the trip he will meet with customers, partners, employees and government representatives. To aid journalists interested in learning more about Ballmer’s activities while in EMEA, the Microsoft EMEA Press Centre is providing an overview of Ballmer’s trip with the appropriate PR contacts and links to additional information. As the tour progresses, breaking news announcements will be highlighted on this page with web links to local resources. To keep updated, please subscribe to the Microsoft EMEA Press Centre RSS feed.
During this visit, Ballmer will give the keynote speeches at the Microsoft Dynamics Partner Day and the Security Management Seminar in the Netherlands on Monday, 23 April. He will then travel to Germany to attend private customer and partner meetings. While in Germany, Ballmer will also participate in a web broadcast interview to be shown on http://www.microsoft.com/de/de/default.aspx and via the online portal of the n-tv newschannel.
Following his visit to Germany, Ballmer will travel to Qatar and Kuwait on Wednesday, 25 April. In the morning, he will visit Qatar, highlighting Microsoft’s partnerships and contributions to the local software economy. In the afternoon, Ballmer will participate in the opening of a new Microsoft Innovation Centre in Kuwait.
During Ballmer’s visit to Poland on Thursday, 26 April he will meet with partners, customers and developers and give a keynote speech at the Microsoft Security Summit and Developer Day. Ballmer completes his tour in Denmark, on Friday, 27 April where he will participate in celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen (MDCC).
More information about Ballmer’s activities in each country can be found below, along with links to further press material and related organisations.
Contact Peter Devery or Microsoft EMEA Response Centre for more information.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands — 23 April 2007 - Steve Ballmer begins his tour in Amsterdam where he will visit Computerwijk, a Microsoft Netherlands citizenship project assisting disadvantaged immigrants and elderly people with ICT training. Also in Amsterdam, he will deliver the keynote speech at the Microsoft Dynamics Partner Day to an audience of approximately 250 Microsoft partners. He will later attend the Security and Management Seminar with an audience of approximately 300 CIOs and technical decision makers, where he will give the keynote speech, discussing Microsoft Forefront security products.
Contact Nanne van Nunen for more information.
Additional Information:
Press Release: Steve Ballmer visits the Netherlands
Press Release: Steve Ballmer talks about Microsoft Views on New Management and Security Solutions
Steve Ballmer Microsoft Dynamics Partner Day keynote transcript
Steve Ballmer Security and Management Seminar keynote transcript
Microsoft Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Tuesday, 24 April
On Tuesday, 24 April, Ballmer’s tour continues in Berlin, Germany, where he will participate in private customer and partner meetings. While in Germany, Ballmer will also participate in a web broadcast interview. The interview is now available for public viewing on http://www.microsoft.com/germany/steveballmer/default.mspx.
Contact Thomas Mickeleit or Inger Paus for more information.
Additional links: Microsoft Germany
Doha, Qatar
Wednesday, 25 April (am)
During the morning of Wednesday, 25 April, Steve will meet with His Highness Sheikh Hamd Bin Khalifah Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, and Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, the Consort of His Highness the Emir of Qatar at the Al-Wajba Palace in Doha.
While in Qatar, Ballmer also signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ictQATAR, the policy making and regulatory body for information and communication technology in Qatar. The partnership aims to help accelerate the development of a knowledge-based society in Qatar by focusing on education, fostering innovation and creating jobs.
A core element of the Strategic Partnership Agreement is the commitment to advancing education among students in Qatar. ictQatar and Microsoft will partner to establish a School Technology Innovation Centre to build awareness around new technologies, demonstrate learning techniques through technology and share best practice in the effective use of ICT in education. This will be supplemented by the formation of an Education Advisory board whose purpose will be to advise on an ICT-education strategy and assist with the development of an Arabic digital literacy curriculum.
Contact Dzila Dik, Bahaa Issa or Helen Baric for more information.
Additional links:
Microsoft Middle East (English)
Microsoft Middle East (Arabic)
Microsoft Middle East Press Centre
Press Release: ictQATAR and Microsoft to make ICT an integral part of Qatar’s Society
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Wednesday, 25 April (pm)
Ballmer will arrive in Kuwait on the afternoon of Wednesday, 25 April. Ballmer will participate in the opening of a new Microsoft Innovation Center in Kuwait City. The centre is located within the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and is one of 110 centres located in 60 countries across the globe, aimed at fostering innovation and growth in local software economies. The centre in Kuwait will provide customers and partners with a comprehensive set of programs offered in three areas — developing skills and human capital, enabling successful industry partnerships and enhancing the local capacity for innovation. The centre provides the tools, courses and environment within which to gain hands-on experience and knowledge.
Today Ballmer also signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait Mr. Faisal Al-Hajji, outlining cooperation between Microsoft and the Kuwait Government in the areas of National Capacity, Education and Technology. The agreement, aims to expand the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and to strengthen Kuwait’s knowledge-driven economy.
As part of the agreement, Microsoft and the Kuwait Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) will work together to enable citizens to improve their quality of life through ICT and contribute to social and economic development. In addition, Microsoft will partner with the Government of Kuwait to youth across the country through IT skills development. The Entrepreneurship Program will aim to create new employment opportunity for Kuwaiti Youth by providing an incentive plan for young local Kuwaitis to set up their own small businesses focusing on the IT service industry. The Basic Skills Development Program will include management and business skills, communication and soft skills as well as basic IT skills training.
Contact Dzila Dik, Bahaa Issa or Helen Baric for more information.
Additional links:
Microsoft Middle East (English)
Microsoft Middle East (Arabic)
Microsoft Middle East Press Centre
Press Release: State of Kuwait Allies with Microsoft to Invest in the Knowledge Economy
Press Release: Minister of Finance and Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer inaugurate Microsoft Innovation Center in Kuwait
Warsaw, Poland
Thursday, 26 April
During Ballmer’s visit to Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, 26 April, he will meet privately with Government representatives including Deputy Prime Minister, Ludwik Dorn and the Minister with responsibility for IT, Grzegorz Bliźniuk. Later in the day, Ballmer will give a keynote speech at the Microsoft Security Summit and Developer Day with an audience of approximately 700 IT professionals and business development managers and 500 developers where he will outline Microsoft’s commitment to support client development through the People Ready Business initiative.
Contact Bartlomiej Danek or Ricardo Adame for more information.
Additional links: Microsoft Poland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Friday, 27 April
Ballmer completes his tour in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday, 27 April where he will join 500 attendees in celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen (MDCC) as well as a number of private partner and customer meetings. Ballmer will also address 200 small business partners and discuss the changing IT market in this sector.
Contact Sara Helweg-Larsen for more information.
Additional links: Microsoft Denmark
If you would like further details of press engagements during Steve Ballmer’s EMEA tours please contact Pete Devery.
