Clinton To Address Tech Conference

Surprise word of a late addition to the guest list has added a spark to this week's Robertson Stephens technology stock conference: President Clinton will speak Thursday.

Always eager to cozy up to the Silicon Valley crowd, the president will stop in at the event to chat about the administration's initiatives on the booming online commerce business. Although the details of the president's address weren't disclosed, conference organizers were scrambling to line up a last-minute who's-who of top tech industry executives and fund mangers to show up at the Clinton address.

Organizers hope that following the speech, they can convene a coffee klatch featuring industry luminaries such as Microsoft's Bill Gates and tech-investment guru John Doerr, along with some key analysts, to give feedback on Clinton's remarks.

"The president's not going to take questions, and he's going to speak for 30 minutes," said Cheryl Popp, a spokeswoman for Robertson Stephens.

Hundreds of portfolio managers are gathering at the conference this week at San Francisco's Ritz-Carlton Hotel to hear scores of presentations by tech executives from mostly public corporations.

After his appearance at the conference, the president and Mrs. Clinton plan to take their daughter, Chelsea, to Utah to celebrate her 18th birthday with a ski trip.

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