Economic Hope Exists

Maria Pinelli, Ernst & Young Americas director, opened its Strategic Growth Forum 2009 with a classic line from Kevin Costner’s movie, “The Postman.” “Stuff’s getting better every day,’’ she said. “It’s time to seize opportunities.”
Pinelli, in her welcome to more than 1,500 chief executives and entrepreneurs who traveled to Palm Desert from start-up ventures and Fortune 500 companies across the world to attend the corporate equivalent of the Academy Awards, said this is the time to be bold.
“Did you know more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500 companies today were created at a time of recession or downturn?”
Pinelli said a recent survey of companies noted that 65 percent were optimistic about growth, 70 percent said they were pursuing future market opportunities, were investing in new products and services and were acquiring new talent.
“That means new jobs,’’ she said.
Twelve countries are represented, Pinelli said, along with 13 private equity firms who collectively control assets of more than $250 billion and 18 leading capital venture firms that were smart enough to back the early incarnations of Apple, Google and Gentell.