Clarus™ Supports Gatehouse Grapevine Luncheon with go! Mobile™
Three friends met for a luncheon in Grapevine, Texas. Two are very old friends. They go way back, to a time when they single-handedly controlled the world’s communications and information technology. Founded in 1885 and 1911, respectively, few companies have such historic interdependence and at such magnitude as AT&T and IBM – one could argue that telecommunications and computing were the pinnacle of last century’s invention. And when Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T met with Ginni Rometty the CEO of IBM for Hand Up for Success, a luncheon for Gatehouse Grapevine, it wasn’t just two Fortune 500 CEO’s and a photo op. It was more than that.
Rometty represents one of only 20 women Chief Executives in the S&P 500. And her own story is one of triumph against great odds – both corporate and socioeconomic as her mother fought to support four children alone. Such a story was inspiring to the audience, who was there ultimately to support an organization that seeks to empower women with temporary assistance for long-term self-sustainability. The organization’s mission is simple, but profound:
The Gatehouse is a supportive living community where women — single or with children — in crisis receive safe refuge, ample time, practical resources and healthy relationships to discover new paths for permanent, positive change.
And with the local support of the Dallas-based Stephenson, the conversation also included traditionally AT&T-IBM technology discussion. As the duo inspired local business leaders and the supporting Gatehouse community, they spoke of ‘Moonshots’ in the context of technology- audacious goals named after the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
Rometty spoke of three eras of computing:
1. Tabulating Systems
2. The Programmable
3. The Cognitive
Era number three is best identified by Watson, which can synthesize massive amounts of data, learn and hypothesize – a new paradigm, and representative of future computing.
At this point you might be wondering who the third friend at the luncheon was.
After all, who could match the prominence of such titans of industry as AT&T and IBM?
Well, in truth, the third sat silently between the two. Born in 2009, almost 100 years after IBM, Clarus Glassboards juxtaposed the digital giants with analog simplicity.
The product between Stephenson and Rometty was a go! Mobile, an artfully-crafted glass communications device.
Simple is not to say glass isn’t progressive. Glass is fascinating – it is heralded as one of the trending building materials of the decade. And in mobile devices and interactive surfaces alike, glass promises to accelerate the digitization of our world. Yet on this day, in Grapevine, Texas, Clarus humbly supported the conversation.
During the event, the glassboard read “Reinvention: Transformation in Business and in Life.” Most importantly, the message echoed the mission of Gatehouse Grapevine – the promise of rebirth for women through support, resources and inspiration.
But just as the day’s conversation beautifully connected the charitable with the professional, the board so too joined seemingly paradoxical concepts. Because as two of the world’s most powerful digital ambassadors took to communicating, they chose not the latest in digital display, but instead the glassboard, innovating in parallel as part of a new century of inspired design.
