H. Ross Perot and Federal Reserve’s Y2k Project Leader to Headline Colorado State’s Business Day

A Texas billionaire and former presidential candidate and the Y2K project leader for the Federal Reserve will headline Colorado State University’s 21st annual Business Day on Oct. 13.

H. Ross Perot, Texas billionaire and founder and former president of the Reform Party, will be the capstone speaker at 8 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Perot made his first successful mark in the business world as the founder of Electronic Data Systems, which he later sold for $2.5 billion to General Motors. Since then, he has started a competing public company in Dallas called Perot Systems, Inc.

Another key speaker will be Carl Gambs, Century Date Change Project Leader for the Federal Reserve System, who will present "Y2K Ready or Not — Here We come," at 1:15 p.m. that afternoon in Room 228, Lory Student Center.

As CDC Project Leader, he works with senior officials responsible for operations through the System, including the Federal Reserve Banks, the Board of Governors and various Product and Function Office directors and managers to ensure CDC readiness. He also represents the Federal Reserve on CDC matters at industry meetings and acts as national spokesperson to the news media on CDC issues.

Business Day was developed in 1979 by the Business College Council and the College of Business, in cooperation with the Associated Students of Colorado State University. The first speaker who helped kick off the tradition of Business Day was Ronald Reagan in 1979, when he was the former governor of California, followed the next year by Malcolm Forbes.

Perot’s speech will follow a reception and a dinner, both of which are reservations only and seating is limited. Tickets for the reception and banquet are $10 and can be purchased by calling Gladys Eddy at (970) 491-5325.