ATLANTA - August 24, 2009 - Jeffrey C. Sprecher, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Founder, Chairman and CEO, will share his financial industry expertise and vision with attendees at this year's Venture Atlanta, to be held on October 13 - 14, 2009 at the W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta.
Sprecher, a proponent of calculated risk in business decision-making, founded ICE in 2000 as a high-growth company. Since then, ICE has grown rapidly, with revenues exceeding $800 million in 2008. Today, ICE is a leading operator of derivatives markets and clearing houses. Under Sprecher's leadership, ICE expanded from energy into global markets for agriculture, chemicals, credit default swaps, emissions, equity indexes and foreign exchange. Today, ICE operates three regulated futures exchanges, two over-the-counter markets and five clearing houses.
In addition to expanding through acquisitions, Mr. Sprecher has focused ICE's resources on organic growth, including developing the industry's first cleared OTC contracts, building the first major clearing house in the U.K. in over a century and launching the world's first clearing house for credit default swaps.
Sprecher has received awards from BusinessWeek, Institutional Investor and other industry publications. He was selected as a finalist in 2002 for "Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year" and in 2006 as one of five finalists in the "MarketWatch CEO of the Year" program. In addition, ICE's stock was named 2006's best performer by The Wall Street Journal.
"We are extremely pleased to have Jeff Sprecher as the keynote speaker for this year's Venture Atlanta Conference," said Tino Mantella, President of the Technology Association of Georgia and Venture Atlanta spokesman. "Sprecher's vision, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit have driven ICE's phenomenal growth and expansion over the last five years. That expertise and business instinct will be invaluable to share with attendees to the conference."
Venture Atlanta is co-hosted by three top business organizations in Georgia: the Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). Currently in its second year, Venture Atlanta is well-known for exemplifying Georgia's dynamic technology ecosystem as well as attracting top-tier venture firms including Arcapita Ventures, C&B Capital, Canaan Partners, Grotech Ventures, H.I.G. Ventures, IDEA Fund Partners, Intel Capital, Kinetic Ventures, Noro-Moseley Partners, Revolution Partners, SSM Partners, TechOperators, Total Technology Ventures and Wellington Financial.
For more information on Venture Atlanta 2009, or to register for the event, please visit: www.ventureatlanta.org.
About Venture Atlanta
Venture Atlanta, Georgia's technology innovation event, is where Georgia's top technology innovators meet the country's top-tier investors. As the state's largest investor showcase, Venture Atlanta connects local entrepreneurs with venture capitalists, bankers, angel investors and others who can help them raise the capital they need to grow their businesses. The annual nonprofit event is a collaboration of three leading Georgia business organizations: Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). For more information, visit www.ventureatlanta.org.