May 17, 2006
University of Texas at Austin Conference Addresses Corporate Governance for Early-Stage Companies

EVENT: 21st Century Governance for Early-Stage Companies Conference

WHEN: 7:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m., Thursday, May 25.

WHERE: The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, Houston.

WHO MAY ATTEND: Officers, directors and board members of early stage companies.

The University of Texas at Austin's IC2 Institute, School of Law and the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship will host a major conference on corporate
governance for directors and officers of early stage companies on Thursday, May 25, at The Houstonian Hotel in Houston.

The event, now in its second year, is designed to aid pre- and post-IPO companies navigate the complex world of corporate governance. According to at least one governance expert, last year's event was the first conference devoted exclusively to practical, nuts-and-bolts corporate governance training for early stage companies.

Conference speakers will discuss the role of the CEO, selection and succession planning, the selection, retention and compensation of directors and the roles and responsibilities of the audit and compensation committees. In addition, a roundtable of chief executive officers CEOs will discuss effective early stage governance strategies.

Among the keynote speakers, Southwest Airline founder Herb Kelleher will discuss the role his board played in the early years of Southwest Airlines, and University of Texas at Austin President William Powers Jr., who led the Enron investigation, will discuss the lessons of Enron for growing companies.

The conference is accredited for director education by the Institutional Shareholder Services. Conference organizers say their goal is to become the nationally recognized leaders in corporate governance for early stage companies.

IC2 Institute and the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship are research centers of the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin.