The AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) was a nationwide non-profit trade association that represented all segments of the technology industry. It lobbied governments at the state, federal, and international levels; provided access to capital and business opportunities; and offered select business services and networking programs.

In 2008 the AeA merged with the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) to form TechAmerica.^[1]

History[link]

AeA was founded in 1943 by David Packard and 25 of Hewlett-Packard's suppliers to help lobby for government contracts. It was originally named the West Coast Electronic Manufacturers Association (WCEMA). In 1969, WCEMA changed its name to the Western Electronic Manufacturers Association (WEMA) to reflect the growing membership outside California. In 1977, the association once again changed its name to the American Electronics Association, in an effort to more accurately represent its 750 members nationwide. A final name change occurred in 2001, as the American Electronics Association was shortened to AeA with the tagline "Advancing the Business of Technology."

AeA has 18 offices across the United States and has 2 international offices in Brussels and Beijing. AeA now has nearly 2,500 corporate members (and the 1.8 million employees they represent nationwide). The membership is drawn from a wide range of high tech sectors, including the aerospace/defense, business related services, computers, medical equipment, semiconductors/electronic components, software, and telecommunications industries. [1]

Since 1959, AeA has awarded an annual Medal of Achievement to a recipient selected for contributions and advances within the high-tech industry, their community, and humankind.^[2]

AeA also produces an annual Cyberstates report which quantifies the high-tech industry on a state-by-state basis in the United States. [2]

On September 11, 2008, The Boards of Directors of AeA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) announced that they are in discussions to merge the trade associations’ memberships and programs.

On December 9, 2008, the Boards of Directors of AeA and ITAA announced that they have each approved the merger of the two trade associations' memberships and programs. The combined associations became TechAmerica (The Technology Association of America) on January 1, 2009. The merger, gave rise to a stronger voice for the technology industry by bringing together the largest number of tech companies throughout the United States.[3]

Chair & Board of Directors[link]

Peter J. Boni is the Chairperson of the AeA Board of Directors and the President and CEO of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Safeguard, Peter J. Boni is responsible for developing and executing Safeguard’s corporate strategy.

In addition to acting as CEO for several publicly traded and privately held companies, he has served as a chairman, a Fortune 500 corporate executive, a NYSE Fortune 1000 president, a management consultant, board member, investor and advisor to institutional investors in both early- and later-stage hardware, software and technology-enabled services firms. After his CEO experience, Peter served as an Operating Partner at Advent International, a leading global private equity firm managing $10 billion.

Select companies represented on the Board include Agilent, Citrix, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Symantec, and Xerox. All Board Members can be found at http://www.aeanet.org/BoardofDirectors

Senior Staff at the Time of the Merger[link]

President & Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Hansen

Financial Operations
Samuel J. Block
Vice President/Controller

Government Affairs
Robert J. Mulligan
Senior Vice President International

Legal
Benjamin Aderson
Association Counsel and Secretary

Operations
Matthew Kazmierczak
Senior Vice President, Operations

Services
Elaine Sanders
Senior Vice President for Financial Conferences, Executive Education, and Affinity Programs

Eric Meyer
Senior Vice President for Insurance Programs

Policy Priorities[link]

Competitiveness[link]

• H-1B Visa and Green Card Reform - increase the numbers available to the high-tech industry
• STEM Education - promote Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education from K-12 and in university programs
• Workforce Compensation and Incentives - strengthen the ability of U.S. employers to recruit and retain a skilled workforce

E-commerce[link]

• Data Breach - ensure that government policies to protect data and privacy do not harm the industry’s push for federal preemption of state data breach laws
• Privacy - ensure that any privacy legislation protects consumers while continuing to encourage e-commerce; push for federal preemption of state privacy laws
• Child Online Safety - ensure that any legislation regulates online behavior consistent with technological capabilities

Health Care Reform[link]

• Health IT - reduce health care costs through deployment of Information Technology

International[link]

• Export Controls - reform U.S. encryption and deemed export regulations
• Customs - maintain coverage for products under Information Technology Agreement
• China - stop Congressional legislation against China that could hurt member interests while engaging China on its restrictive policies related to indigenous innovation, IPR, standards, and government procurement
• Free Trade Agreements - get Congressional approval of agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama
• Environment - seek favorable outcomes in China RoHS catalogue and certification regulations; seek EU policies supporting development of energy efficiency technologies
• Japan - slash interconnectivity rates charged by Japanese national carrier NTT for foreign telecoms to operate in Japan

Tax & Finance[link]

• R&D Tax Credit - renew and seek a permanent extension of a strengthened credit
• Tax Reform - ensure that any tax reform legislation is positive for the high-tech industry and protects the industry’s ability to operate globally
• Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 - reduce the onerous and disproportionate business tax levied on small- and medium-sized companies by SOX 404 compliance

Previous Years' AeA Public Policy Priorities
2007 AeA Priorities || >2006 AeA Priorities ^[3]

AeA's Regional Offices[link]

AeA's main offices are located in Washington, DC and in Silicon Valley, CA. AeA has a total network of 18 offices across the country and two overseas. These offices are located in:

• Arizona
• Florida
• Los Angeles
• Midwest (Illinois)
• Minnesota
• Mountain States (Colorado)
• New England (Massachusetts)
• New Jersey - Pennsylvania (New Jersey)
• New York
• Orange County
• Oregon
• Potomac (Washington, DC)
• Sacramento
• San Diego
• Silicon Valley/Northern CA
• Southeast (Georgia)
• Texas (Austin and Dallas)
• Washington

International Offices

• AeA Europe (Brussels, Belgium)
• United States Information Technology Office (Beijing, China)

Sources[link]

External links[link]

• TechAmerica