"Nasdaq has been the job creation engine for the U.S. and Al's acceptance of the co-chairman role is extremely important for our region," said Morino, founder and now co-chairman of the Potomac KnowledgeWay. "The Washington-Virginia-Maryland region is reaching a point of critical mass due to the growth of thousands of information, communications, and biotechnology communications companies that have emerged over the last decade, as well as the many organizations that support those companies. Al will help to ensure the region's breakthrough to accelerated growth."

"I am delighted to become co-chair of the Potomac KnowledgeWay," said Berkeley. "The wave of innovation and new businesses in the greater Washington area makes it one of the most exciting technology markets in the world. Innovation and capital are coming together at an increasing rate to create jobs and improve the standard of living in our region. The Potomac Knowledgeway is dedicated to accelerating this growth. Now is the time for the region's established entrepreneurs to join together to bring our new knowledge-based economy to fruition."

Berkeley was appointed president of The Nasdaq Stock Market in 1996. Prior to joining Nasdaq®, he was a managing director and senior banker in the corporate finance department of Alex Brown & Sons, Inc., financing computer software and electronic commerce companies. Berkeley is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he received an MBA in 1968 and the University of Virginia where he received a BA in 1966.

When the Potomac KnowledgeWay was created in 1995, the dominant employer in the region was the federal government, which then was downsizing. The challenge for the KnowledgeWay, at that time, was to help the region recognize its strengths in technology to nurture a growing entrepreneurial base and to capitalize on the region's assets in telecommunications, Internet and content.

Today, the growing infocomm and biotechnology sectors, driven by a concentration of Internet companies in the region, employ a workforce that outnumbers federal government workers. By January 1999, the region was home to 166 Nasdaq-listed companies - 3.3 percent of all companies listed on the market. In addition, a robust community of more than 3,000 regional start-up companies has sprung up, underscoring the new entrepreneurial climate that has evolved in the region.

"The result is a local economy that is robust and growing," Morino said. "The Potomac KnowledgeWay now must use its regional advantage to foster a breakthrough to even greater, sustained growth."

"Al's experience in the technology sector is an enormous 'plus' for the KnowledgeWay," said Fred Bollerer, Potomac KnowledgeWay president and CEO. "Our region clearly has the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts. One way to achieve that potential is to build productive relationships among key stakeholders that speed up the process of turning new ideas into high-demand products and services. Another way is to produce policies that support entrepreneurship. I believe there is no one in the region who is more knowledgeable about building these relationships than Al Berkeley."

The Potomac KnowledgeWay is a not-for-profit leadership organization that acts as a catalyst, thought leader and idea incubator to help foster growth in, and frame the importance of, the regional InfoComm Cluster. Launched in 1995, it is supported by a wide range of regional businesses and leadership organizations.