Rich Templeton says he’s as optimistic about the future of technology as he’s ever been, and not just because Dallas-based Texas Instruments enjoyed 42 percent revenue growth in the latest quarter. TI’s chairman, president and CEO says global markets are ripe with tech opportunity, and North Texas companies are well-positioned to benefit from that. But to really do so, he told the Dallas Regional Chamber’s 10th Annual State of Technology luncheon today, the area needs to keep “investing” in the likes of education and infrastructure.
Specifically, Templeton told the big crowd, DFW needs to: promote more funding for university research efforts; make education in general a higher priority; embrace open trade; improve the area’s transportation/power infrastructure; and keep costs–including federal, state, and local taxes–low. He pointed out that the U.S. corporate income tax rate is the second-highest among 32 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development–one of two times he drew spontaneous applause from the tech-savvy business crowd. (The other came when he mentioned the importance of doing a better job on education.)