SPEAKING INVITATION AMERICAN BUSINESS CONFERENCE WASHINGTON, D.C. WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH 1988

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90G00152R001202400011-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 30, 2011
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: November 18, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

STAT
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T FROM:
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William M. Baker
STAT
ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
suuECT: l optional)
Speaking Invitation- American Business Conference <
EXTENSION
NO. PAO 87-0149
Director, Public Affairs
18 November 1987
TOs (Officer designation, room number, and
building)
DATE
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COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
INITIALS
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ADMINISTRATI .-14TERNAL USt UNLY
18 November 1987
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RE: Speaking Invitation
American Business Conference
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, 23 March 1988
You have tentatively accepted an invitation to speak to the American
Business Conference (ABC), a group of 10 to 12 chief executive officers at an
off-the-record breakfast or luncheon meeting March 22nd or 23rd in
Washington, D.C. President William Lilley has now invited you to speak to the
entire group of 80 - 90 CEOs at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, 23 March. The suggested
format is 20 minutes of remarks followed by 20 minutes of questions and
answers. The meeting would be informal, off-the-record and without media
coverage. Although the CEOs concentrate on economic growth issues, your views
on the US role in the world today and national security will be of great
interest. Frank Carlucci spoke to the group in September.
Since members of the ABC represent the type of audience that we wish to
educate further about the Agency's mission, I recommend that you accept this
invitation for 23 March. If you agree, attached is a letter for your
signature.
8Nov87
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Central Intelligence Agency
Mr. William Lilley III
President
American Business Conference
1730 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Bill:
Many thanks for your letter inviting me to address the full membership of
the American Business Conference on Wednesday, March 23rd at 9:30 a.m. in
Washington, D.C. Although my schedule is not firm for March, I will pencil it
in on my calendar. If nothing goes awry, I will look forward to meeting with
you and your group.
Warmest regards.
Is! William H. Websne,
William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
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\\,t liintt?n. I)( U ((,
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October 15, 1987
The Honorable William Webster
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
Many thanks for your recent letter concerning our March
22-23, 1988 membership meeting. I certainly appreciate the
difficulty in predicting your schedule this far in advance.
My earlier correspondence mentioned breakfast or lunch
on either March 22 or 23 with some of our members. However, we
would like to expand upon this, and invite you to address our
full membership instead. Although our policy advocacy centers
upon economic growth issues, our CEO's are extremely
sophisticated about the larger implications of the U.S. role in
the world and would be very interested in your views on the
same from your CIA perspective. Frank Carlucci did the same
from his perspective at our annual meeting last month, and it
was one of our most interesting sessions. If you find your
schedule is open, we would like to suggest 9:30 a.m. on
Wednesday, March 23. However, if this is not convenient, we
will be pleased to arrange an alternate time.
Again, we hope you will be able to participate in our
membership meeting in March, and look forward to hearing from
you. If you or your staff need additional information, please
call me or Fran Frazier at 822-9300.
Sincerely,
William Lilley III
P.S. I loved the NEWSWEEK cover; Wyman and I laughed about how
you have ascended to movie star status. We assume
your tennis game has suffered accordingly.
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23,, September 198
COMMENTS (,Numbly, each 'tomrtie~5~ M siw ., Jr$m whtiio
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PAO 87-0106
23 September 1987
RE: Speaking Invitation
American Business Conference
Washington, D.C.
22 - 23 March 1988
STAT
The President of the American Business Conference, William Lilley III, has
invited you to speak at an off-the-record breakfast or luncheon meeting on either
Tuesday, March 22nd or Wednesday, March 23rd, in Washington, D.C. You could
expect a group of approximately 10 to 12 chief executive officers who are members
of the ABC. The suggested format is a roundtable discussion allowing 10 minutes
of prepared remarks followed by a 30-minute discussion period. The Business
Conference leaves the topic of your remarks open to your discretion.
As you recall, the ABC invited you to speak in September, but you were unable
to accept because of your overseas trip. You indicated that you would take a
rain check on their invitation. (See letter opposite.) I recommend that you
address this group, but suggest an interim letter, since your schedule is not
firm for March. If you agree, attached is a letter for your signature.
STAT
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ADMINISTRATIVE INTERNAL USE ONLY
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Ccntral Intdligence Agcrxy
Mr. William Lilley III
President
American Business Conference
1730 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
9 SEP 1987
Dear Bill:
Thank you for your letter and invitation to speak to the American Business
Conference on March 22nd or 23rd, and I hope that I will be able to do so. At
the moment my calendar dates are not firm for March. However, as soon as I
know my schedule, a member of my Public Affairs staff will be in touch with
you.
I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your new position at the American
Business Conference. Best wishes for a successful Washington tour.
Sincerely yours,
William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
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American
Business
Conference
The Honorable William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20505
August 5, 1987
Many thanks for your recent letter. Although our members
will be disappointed you will not be able to meet with them in
September, we certainly understand that the demands on your time
are overwhelming. Thus, I am formally extending the raincheck
you mentioned -- and we hope you will be able to join us at our
Membership Meeting which will be held on March 22 and 23, 1988.
I am thoroughly enjoying my new post here at the American
Business Conference. The chief executive officers who comprise
the organization are the real leaders in today's economy, and
they are some of the most knowledgeable and articulate
individuals I know.
Bill, you have my best wishes as you settle in at the Central
Intelligence Agency. We will be in touch in a few months
concerning our March meeting.
Best,
I - il) k 'Nlrccl. \\\
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\\ hilt -\ III
I'n"itit ill
William Lilley III
.#Itl /I /T I
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The Director of Central Intelligence n,-_,
Mr. William Lilley III
President
American Business Conference
1730 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Bill:
August 3, 1987
I was pleased to receive your invitation to speak
to the American Business Conference on September 15th or 16th,
but present plans call for me to be out of the country. Under
the circumstances, I must say no much as I regret doing so.
Please give me a raincheck.
I hope you are enjoying your new responsibilities.
Welcome back to Washington.. I
Warm regards,
Sincerely,
William H. Webster
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American
Business
Conference
1730 K Ftrcet, N`W
Washington?DC 20000
[phone]
William Lilley III
President
The Honorable William J. Webster
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
,u C live Rllnr
87-2502X
June 18, 1987
The American Business Conference will hold its annual meeting
on September 15 and 16 in Washington, D.C. During this two-day
meeting, our members will work with the nation's top officials to
promote fundamental economic growth and new opportunities for
entrepreneurship. Topics of discussion will include the federal
budget deficit, international competitiveness, deterrents to
capital formation and other factors which could adversely affect
the growth of our economy. On behalf of the membership, I would
like to invite you to participate in an off-the-record policy
discussion with some of our chief executive officers at breakfast
at 8:00 a.m. or lunch at noon on Tuesday, September 15 or
Wednesday, September 16.
The American Business Conference membership is comprised of
100 chief executive officers of high growth companies with
revenues between $25 million and $2 billion. To become a member
and remain in the coalition, a company must grow three times
faster than the economy plus inflation. These companies are
enormously successful, and are on the leading edge of the economy,
representing all facets of American enterprise: manufacturing,
high-tech, and the service sectors.
ABC's concerns are broad-based, but concentrate solely on
economic growth issues. Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the
American Stock Exchange, serves as Chairman of the American
Business Conference.'- Our membership includes many distinguished
business leaders whose companies are so prominent that the
American public often identifies their product or service with the
company's name. The enclosed brochure contains additional
information about the American Business Conference.
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Again, we hope you will be able to participate in our annual
meeting in September, and look forward to hearing from you. If
you or your staff need additional information, please call me or
Fran Frazier at 822-9300.
Sincerely,
William Lilley III
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ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (opt.onol)
STAT
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Invitation to speak to American Business Conference Annual
~j~~rchin Mr~ntinrr
----
S TAT
Director, Public airs
TO: (Officer designation, room number,
building)
24
UL 1981
21 July 1987
OFFICER'S COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
INITIALS to whom. Draw a line across column offer each comment.)
41W
tOr'
FORM [ 1 0 USE PREVIOUS
1-79 v EDfnONS
D-.309 - /"P,
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The Director of Central Intelligence
Washington. D C 20505
August 3, 1987
Mr. William Lilley III
President
American Business Conference
1730 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Bill:
I was pleased to receive your invitation to speak
to the American Business Conference on September 15th or 16th,
but present plans call for me to be out of the country. Under
the circumstances, I must say no much as I regret doing so.
Please give me a raincheck.
I hope you are enjoying your new responsibilities.
Welcome back to Washington. I
Warm regards,
Sincerely,
William H. Webster
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Central Intelligence Agency
fig0 5- Q 89
Mr. William Lilley III
1730 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Mr. Lilley:
Thank you for your kind invitation to address the American
Business Conference on September 15th or 16th, during its annual
meeting in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, my travel schedule
prevents me from being able to accept the honor at this time. I wish
you a most successful meeting and please extend my regards to your
members.
Sincerely yours,
STAT
DCI/PAO/WMB/
Distribution:
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1 - ER
1 - EXDIR
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-'PAO Has.)
1 - PAO (Ames)
1 - MED (Subject)
William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
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23 July 1987
RE: Speaking Invitation
American Business Conference Annual' Membership Meeting
Washington, D.C.
15 - 16 September 1987
The President of the American Business Conference (ABC), William
Lilley III, has invited you to speak at an off-the-record breakfast or
luncheon meeting on either Tuesday, September 15th, or Wednesday,
September 16th, in Washington, D.C. You could expect a group of
approximately 10 to 12 chief executive officers who are members of the
ABC. The suggested format is a roundtable discussion allowing 10
minutes for prepared remarks followed by a 30-minute discussion
period. The Business Conference leaves the topic of your remarks open
to your discretion, but suggests that the ABC members are interested
in the federal budget deficit, international competitiveness,
deterrents to capital formation and other factors which could
adversely affect the growth of our economy. Our national security is
always a topic of interest. During the two days of their annual
meeting, they anticipate that members of Congress and Cabinet members
also will address the group on separate occasions.
The American Business Conference membership is composed of 100
chief executive officers of high growth companies with revenues
between $25 million and $2 billion. These companies are on the
leading edge of the economy, representing all facets'of American
enterprise including manufacturing, high-tech, and the service
sectors. Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the American Stock Exchange,
serves as Chairman of the American Business Conference. (For further
information see brochure opposite.) President Reagan addressed this
group in May, and Bill Casey spoke to them last year and also in 1983.
Schedule permitting, I believe that the American Business
Conference would be a good group to address at some future date.
Since you will be overseas at this time, I have attached a letter of
regret to Mr. Lilley for your signature.
STAT
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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
ROUTING SLIP
Compt
SUSPENSE
Exygti a Secretary
Jun 87
3637 (loll)
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1730K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
[phone]
' illiam Lillev 111
president
American
Business
Conference
`,2[; i'1? Rtgi
87-2502X
June 18, 1987
The Honorable William J. Webster
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
The American Business Conference will hold its annual meeting
on September 15 and 16 in Washington, D.C. During this two-day
meeting, our members will work with the nation's top officials to
promote fundamental economic growth and new opportunities for
entrepreneurship. Topics of discussion will include the federal
budget deficit, international competitiveness, deterrents to
capital formation and other factors which could adversely affect
the growth of our economy. On behalf of the membership, I would
like to invite you to participate in an off-the-record policy
discussion with some of our chief executive officers at breakfast
at 8:00 a.m. or lunch at noon on Tuesday, September 15 or
Wednesday, September 16.
The American Business Conference membership is comprised of
100 chief executive officers of high growth companies with
revenues between $25 million and $2 billion. To become a member
and remain in the coalition, a company must grow three times
faster than the economy plus inflation. These companies are
enormously successful, and are on the leading edge of the economy,
representing all facets of American enterprise: manufacturing,
high-tech, and the service sectors.
ABC's
economic
American
Business
business
American
concerns are broad-based, but concentrate solely on
growth issues. Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the
Stock Exchange, serves as Chairman of the American
Conference. Our membership includes many distinguished
leaders whose companies are so prominent that the
public often identifies their product or service with the
company's name. The enclosed brochure contains additiona
information about the American Business Conference.
11111 A Coalition (;f Govlh Companies P- ziAq -
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Again, we hope you will be able to participate in our annual
meeting in September, and look forward to hearing from you. If
you or your staff need additional information, please call me or
Fran Frazier at 822-9300.
Sincerely,
William Lilley III
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Furrwne
500
he Nation's economic future lies in the
ambitions and dreams of entrepreneurs. The small
to midsize companies are our economic engine and
America's best hope for the future."
Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman
American Business Conference
The American Business Conference serves as
the voice of the midsize, high-growth sector of the
economy. The successful entrepreneurs who com-
prise the ABC represent the entire spectrum of
American industry, from manufacturing to high
tech to real estate and services. These chief execu-
tives work to create policies which promote eco-
nomic growth and new opportunities for
entrepreneurship. Membership in the ABC is lim-
ited to 100 CEOs of high-growth companies with
revenues between $25 million and $2 billion.
ABC companies are winners. The average five
year growth rate in earnings for member compa-
nies is 21 percent. To become a member and remain
one, ABC companies must grow at three times the
rate of the economy plus inflation-almost 15 per-
cent. No other Washington-based organization has
such strict standards for membership. About 15
companies per year fail to make the growth hur-
dle; new companies, with new blood, take their
place.
'e distinguish our products with
image-building advertising and quality workman-
ship and design."
W.L. Lyons Brown, Jr., Chairman and C.E.O.
Brown-Forman Corporation
What distinguishes ABC companies is their
leadership in the product or service fields in which
they compete. So prominent is their command of
these markets that the product or service is often
identified by their corporate name. This leadership
imprint embraces a diverse array of high quality
products: Cray supercomputers, Dunkin' Donuts,
Hasbro toys, Millipore filtration systems, Genentech
biomedics, Peat Marwick accounting, Comdisco
computers, Cullinet software, Bergen Brunswig
medical supplies, A.T. Cross pens, ADP payroll
services, Valspar paints, Josephson talent agencies,
Charter Medical hospitals, Mosbacher oil,
NV-Ryan homes; Levitz furniture, Herman Miller
office furnishings, Grey advertising, Arthur
Andersen accounting, and on and on.
specialize our people and orga-
nize operations along narrow market lines so that
we are the best in each field we enter. We must,
and will, respond more quickly than ever with
improvements in products and services, and we will
continue to be alert to the new market niche oppor-
tunities where we can offer clear benefits to the
customer."
Abraham Krasnoff, Vice Chairman & C.E.O.
Pall Corporation
Background
In 1979, the American Stock Exchange, with the
Wharton School of Btsiness, co-sponsored a semi-
nar entitled, "Growth Companies: Opportunities
and Challenge." Arthur Levitt, Jr., chairman of the
American Stock Exchange, led the gathering of
chief executive officers and government officials
in calling for a new kind of representation in Wash-
ington, a one-of-a-kind alliance of midsize, rapidly-
growing companies. The organization would be
as efficient and energetic as the innovative, suc-
cessful firms that would become its members.
In 1981, ABC opened its door in a small office
in downtown Washington. The organization has
thrived since its opening day by defying the norms
and conventions of Washington business org-
anizations: the agenda has been kept narrow-
only national economic growth issues-and the
membership has been kept small-only 100
winners.
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ABC's Unconventional Meetings
Central to ABC's mission is bringing its members
together with Washington's key policymakers. For
that purpose, ABC holds two membership meet-
ings in Washington each year. An ABC member-
ship meeting is in fact a number of working sessions
in which small groups of CEOs meet high rank-
ing government officials for frank, off-the-record
discussions of pressing economic issues.
Every year since ABC's inception, the Presi-
dent has participated in the membership meetings.
Other national figures who meet regularly with
the CEOs of ABC include the Vice President, the
Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, every
Cabinet officer, and virtually every member of
Congress involved in the formation of economic
policy. No other business group in Washington
offers its membership remotely comparable access
to America's leaders.
The Washington policymaking community has
praised ABC's meeting format. Government offi-
cials welcome the chance for meaningful, one-on-
one exchange with chief executives who are experts
in economic growth and in the creation of jobs,
new markets, and innovative products. ABC meet-
ings make a difference.
Along with the membership meetings, ABC
Growth of 6umutad
International Growth of
kevenues International
1980-1985 It .venu,,
I98G-1990
lutcrnatlonal ar
7bt.,l kevenucs
holds periodic task force meetings in the areas of
capital formation, tax policy, international trade,
and regulatory reform. Interested members are
encouraged to participate in these task force ses-
sions as well as in ad hoc meetings formed to address
other, fast-breaking national issues. As always, these
meetings are characterized by close consultation
with those Washington officials most influential in
the relevant subject area.
e're doing things that count. We
believe in what we do. Making money is important,
but there are lots of ways to make money ... we're
making a contribution to society."
Earle C. Williams, President
BIM International
Policy Advocacy
ABC's policy advocacy has centered upon four
issues: deficit reduction, international competi-
tiveness, cost of capital, and economic regulatory
reform. This policy agenda, intentionally restricted,
covers the key topics relating to ABC's core goals:
the stimulation of economic growth and the expan-
sion of entrepreneurial opportunities.
The best advocates of ABC's views are the
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nusiness
members themselves. In addition, ABC's staff
works with Congressional committees, the Admin-
istration, and members of the press to insure that
members' views are given full consideration when-
ever economic or regulatory policy is made.
Policy Research
The American Business Conference established its
reputation in Washington by undertaking critically-
acclaimed studies which examined issues central to
economic growth. The first of these, The High Cost
of Capital, by ABC member Dr. George N.
Hatsopoulos, identified the high cost of capital as
the underlying cause of America's competitive
problems. This widely reprinted study was of
immediate value to policymakers concerned that
capital costs in the United States are two to three
times as much as those of West Germany and Japan.
An ABC-sponsored study of midsize, high
growth companies by McKinsey and Company is
considered the most comprehensive study of why
those companies are outperforming large corpo-
rations. McKinsey's best-seller study, The Winning
Performance: How America's High-Growth Midsize
Companies Succeed, captured the attention of both
the Washington policymaking community and the
general reading public. McKinsey concluded that,
"In the half-decade 1978 through 1983, the collec-
tive performance of the ABC companies in sales,
profits, assets, jobs and market value outpaced the
performance of the economy, the Fortune 500 and
even the `excellent companies' chronicled by
Tom Peters and Bob Waterman in In Search of
Excellence ..."
1 1 merica is still the most innovative coun-
try in the world, and one characteristic shared
by the world's most successful companies is their
commitment to products that boost productivity."
Stephen R. Levy, Chairman and C.E.O.
Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc.
Anothcr`cutting-edge policy report, The Chal-
lenge of Global Competitiveness: Views of America's
High Growth Companies, analyzed why ABC
midsize companies succeed in international markets
when many large companies flounder. Between
1980 and 1985, ABC firms achieved an average
annual growth rate in international sales of over
27 percent and project comparable rates of growth
internationally in the future. These growth rates
underscore the significance of foreign revenues as
a fuel for the overall expansion of ABC companies.
In his syndicated column, Washington Post eco-
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AMERICAN
nomics correspondent Hobart Rowen described the
implications of the report. "A new report by the
American Business Conference, an alert Washing-
ton lobby . . . shows that not all American compa-
nies have forgotten hors, to do business abroad.
These aggressive ABC businessmen have had `an
astonishing record of success' in international mar-
kets, the majority showing the same double-digit
growth percentages abroad they registered in their
domestic business ... the ABC group concluded
`Protectionism ... is of no help at all. In the end,
government must place the central responsibility
for American competitiveness in Japan and else-
where upon the shoulders of American business,
where, in our society, it belongs."'
ii
/1.11 of our markets are worldwide-
Therefore, our competitors are worldwide. This
issue is of major strategic importance to us."
Roger Johnson, Chairman
Western Digital Corp.
The Future
The members of the American Business Confer-
ence are entrepreneurial individuals who are never
content with present accomplishments. As a result,
the organization is constantly moving forward to
anticipate economic and political conditions which
will affect the climate for entrepreneurship. In the
next decade, ABC members will address the com-
plexities of growing federal deficits, competition
from abroad, barriers to capital formation and other
factors which could adversely affect the economic
vitality of our nation.
At the end of our current five year plan,
I want us to have gone through a management
revolution, to have changed the culture to one in
which improving productivity and making the best
products better becomes a way of life."
Ray Stata, President
Analog Devices, Inc.
American Business Conference
1730 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
[phone]
BUSINESS
CONFERENCE
A Coalition of
Growth Companies
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