The Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit is coming to Santa Clara next week. The annual conference brings together blue-chip speakers, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders who are interested in the next moves baby boomers will make in their careers and personal lives.

The Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit takes place June 19 at Santa Clara University. Information about the conference, including registration and agenda, is available at www.boomerventuresummit.com.

Now in its third year, the Summit presents market data, case studies and business strategies directly from innovators in the 40+ marketplace, including prominent members of the private venture investment community, corporate strategists, and directors of leading nonprofit organizations.

Enormous business opportunities are being created around the world as populations age. America's 78 million baby boomers - who now range from 43 to 61 years old - annually spend more than $2 trillion on goods and services, driven by the lifestage transitions they're making in areas such as housing, health, fitness, fashion, finance, romance, travel and family.

Summit highlights include:

• What are the most important priorities for VCs investing in the boomer marketplace? Leaders from Palo Alto Venture Partners; Clearstone Venture Partners; AARP Knowledge Management; Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology & Society; and the American Society on Aging discuss VC investment strategies, and how they mesh with the priorities of nonprofits serving the boomer and senior markets.
• Why are VCs investing so heavily in health? VCs and corporate VCs describe their investment strategies in healthy living, wellness and eldercare, and top nonprofit leaders in aging respond. Speakers from the National Council on Aging; AARP; Highland Capital Partners; Johnson & Johnson Development Corp.; and Mohr Davidow Ventures.
• How do journalists covering news and trends about boomers select stories, and which stories get the most response from readers and viewers? Journalists from the Silicon Valley Business Journal; MarketWatch from Dow Jones; Aging Today; AARP.org; and 50+ Digital share their perspectives.

Another Summit highlight is the final judging of the 2007 Silicon Valley Boomer Business Plan Competition, which draws entrepreneurs from around the world who are developing products and services for the 40+ marketplace. A panel of judges will review business plans from competition finalists and choose two $10,000 grand prize winners.

The conference is co-produced by the Executive Development Center at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and Mary Furlong & Associates.

"As a hub for entrepreneurial activity in the Silicon Valley, the Leavey School of Business is delighted to host this showcase of technology, innovative products and services aimed at the boomer market," says Barry Z. Posner, professor of leadership and dean of the Leavey School of Business.

The Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit "has become the gathering place for business leaders who are defining the new marketplaces of an aging world," says Mary Furlong, CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates and executive producer of the Summit. "This event is a key venue for entrepreneurs to gain visibility, meet leaders in the venture capital and nonprofit worlds, and to validate and accelerate their innovations."

Summit attendees will have opportunities, throughout the day, to meet and network with panelists, sponsors, VCs, Boomer Business Plan Competition finalists, authors, journalists and other attendees. Panelists include: Bill Elkus, Managing Director, Clearstone Venture Partners; James P. Firman, Ed. D, President and CEO, National Council on Aging (NCOA); Kristen Gerencher, Healthcare Columnist, MarketWatch from Dow Jones; Jody Holtzman, Director, AARP Knowledge Management; Paul Kleyman, Editor, Aging Today, American Society on Aging (ASA); James L. Koch, Executive Director of Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology & Society; Mark Miller, President/Founder, 50+Digital; Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer, AARP; Bijan Salehizadeh, MD, Partner, Highland Capital Partners; Sara Solovitch, Reporter, Silicon Valley Business Journal; Robert Stein, President & CEO, American Society on Aging (ASA); Brad Vale, Ph.D., VP, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp.; Vance Vanier, MD, Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures; Susan Ayers Walker, Computer and Technology Journalist, AARP.org; Peter Ziebelman, Partner, Palo Alto Venture Partners.

Sponsors of the 2007 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit include AARP; North Castle Partners; Posit Science Corporation; Hewlett-Packard; MetLife Mature Market Institute; Morrison & Foerster; Silicon Valley Bank; Sun Microsystems; Decision Street; The Entrust Group; Petplan; ALCiS Health, Inc.; and LifeBio.

In-kind contributors include BMW; Les Concierges; Four Seasons Silicon Valley; and Southwest Airlines. Marketing partners include AIPMM; American Society on Aging and its Business Forum on Aging; CXOnetworking; EBIG; Mary Furlong & Associates; Patti Wilson, Career Company; San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association; and SmartSilvers Alliance.

About the co-producers
Founded in 1926, the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. Its undergraduate business program was recently acknowledged among the best across the U.S., and its MBA and Executive MBA programs are ranked 12th and 21st, respectively, in the nation among graduate business programs. More than 80 percent of its 1,100 MBA students are working professionals in Silicon Valley. More information is available at www.scu.edu/business.

Founded in 2003, Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA) is a proven team of business innovators, comprised of talent from marketing, editorial, business, online content and community. Mary Furlong, Ed.D., the firm's founder and CEO, has guided the offline and online 40+ market strategies of leading corporations and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years. Furlong is Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, and previously founded SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. Her latest book, "Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace," was published by FT Press in February 2007.