The annual TiE conference (May 12-13) is one of the best Silicon Valley conferences for startups and this year it features one of the best speaker line ups I've seen:

Shashi Tharoor, United Nations Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, will provide a geopolitical perspective on the conference theme of Disruption and Convergence followed by John Doerr.

Also on the speaker list is David Lynch, Howard Dean, and serial entrepreneur Judy Estrin. Here are all the details:

Santa Clara, CA - May 2, 2006 -TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Silicon Valley today announced the speakers for TiEcon 2006, held in Santa Clara, CA on May 12 and 13. Opening speaker, , United Nations Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, will provide a geopolitical perspective on the conference theme of Disruption and Convergence followed by John Doerr, a pioneering, world renowned leader in the Venture Capital community. The title of Mr. Doerr's speech will be "Entrepreneurship Unlimited." TiEcon brings together the talent, ideas, enterprise and people who are shaping the future of our business world.

"We are very proud of the world-class speakers we were able to attract for the TiEcon 2006. TiEcon is an ideal event for helping Entrepreneurs and VCs build relationships and acquire the tools necessary to create successful and profitable businesses," says Vani Kola, Chairperson of TiEcon 2006. "TiEcon 2006 will be a platform through which industry experts and world-renowned market leaders will unravel the countless opportunities and boundless optimism that lie ahead."

Other Keynote Speakers also scheduled are: Howard Dean, Chairman, Democratic National Committee; Judy Estrin, Chairman, Packet Design Inc; Vyomesh Joshi, EVP,

"Hewlett Packard"; David Lynch, Hollywood Producer; T J Rodgers, Founder and CEO, Cypress Semiconductor; and Jane Wales, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of North California.

The Distinguished speakers include: Tom Berquist, CFO, Ingres Corporation; Dr. Tom Fogarty, Professor of Surgery, Stanford University; Sanjay Jha, EVP, Qualcomm; Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures; Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products & User Experience, Google; Rahul Merchant, CTO, Merrill Lynch Global Markets; Byung Moo Kim, Global CTO, SK Telecom; Nobuharu Ono, President & CEO, NTT DoCoMo USA, Inc.; Rick Page, Founder and CEO, The Complex Sale, Inc; Aliza Peleg, Managing Director, SAP Labs U.S.; David Seibel, President, Insight Partners; and Linda Simensky, Senior Director of Children's Programming, PBS. For a complete agenda please visit www.tiecon.org.

Meet the Movers and Shakers

A special highlight at TiEcon this year is the "Entrepreneurs' Bazaar." The Bazaar provides unique opportunities for entrepreneurs to schedule quality one-on-one time with industry experts from the venture capital, legal, finance and other professions. The Entrepreneurs' Bazaar will be a platform to discuss and solve the Entrepreneurs' ideas and challenges and seek an expert opinion, or simply connect with the right people for business ideas.

TiEcon 2006 will take place Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13 in the Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA. On line registration ends by midnight May 8th. Interested attendees can register online at www.tiecon.org