THE GORBACHEVS IN CALIFORNIA : POWER LUNCH BY THE BAY
San Francisco’s rich and powerful turned out in force for coveted seats to the Monday luncheon honoring Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev at the Fairmont Hotel. They included heads of many of California’s most influential companies, with an emphasis on high technology, oil and gas, telecommunications, construction and banking--the key ingredients that Gorbachev needs to get the Soviet economy in gear. Among those attending:
John Sculley, chairman, president and chief executive of Cupertino’s Apple Computer Inc., and Steve Wozniak, the entrepreneurial high-tech wizard who co-founded Apple in 1976. Apple is advising the Soviet educational system on the construction of research laboratories and has provided a small number of Macintosh computers to the Soviet Academy of Science. It is also discussing joint ventures with the Soviets about add-on products for Apple computers. At Gorbachev’s request, Sculley sits on the International Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity, a U.S.-Soviet group fostering cooperation. Wozniak has worked for nearly a decade on providing high-tech links with the Soviet Union, including three live video rock concerts.
David Packard and William R. Hewlett, co-founders of Palo Alto’s Hewlett-Packard Co. The high-tech firm established a sales office in the Soviet Union in 1975. Last year it sold $30 million worth of medical and testing equipment.
Kenneth T. Derr, chairman and chief executive of San Francisco’s Chevron Corp. Over the weekend, Chevron scored a coup when it signed an agreement with a Soviet oil firm to study the possibility of developing a massive oil field in Soviet Central Asia.
Riley Bechtel, president of Bechtel Group Inc. of San Francisco. In April, the big engineering and construction company agreed to study the feasibility of developing a research community akin to Silicon Valley near Moscow. Last month, it agreed to provide consulting services to a Soviet steel manufacturer. It is also studying 15 other projects.
Clausen
A. W. Clausen, retired chairman and chief executive of San Francisco’s BankAmerica Corp., and his successor, Richard Rosenberg. BankAmerica has had a representative’s office in Moscow since 1973. A spokeswoman said it is watching developments and that a Soviet decision to allow convertibility of the ruble into other currencies, for example, would afford great opportunities for a bank.
Rhea Serpan, vice president of AT&T; in San Francisco. As chairman of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Serpan served as moderator for the luncheon. AT&T; has provided long-distance telephone service in the Soviet Union for more than 50 years and is poised to take advantage of the nation’s pent-up demand for communications services.
