Charlottesville – April 3, 2008 – The Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) today announced that Time Magazine’s “Hero of the Environment,” William A. McDonough, will be the featured speaker at the organization's Innovation Awards 2008 Dinner on May 22 at Farmington Country Club.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have Bill McDonough as our keynote speaker,” said Dave Keller, CBIC Chairman. “This year marks the 10th anniversary of these prestigious awards so it’s fitting to have someone so important to our community and the world of technology and entrepreneurship.”

McDonough’s address, titled “Cradle to Cradle: Design for the Next Century,” promises to invigorate the Charlottesville community by discussing the many components of innovation including the responsibility people have to the world to innovate and the responsibility CBIC has to ensure that innovation is recognized.

As one of the primary proponents and shapers of what he and his partners call “The Next Industrial Revolution,” McDonough was recently elected an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

McDonough is an Alumni Research Professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, and Consulting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. He also serves as U.S. Chairman and member of the Board of Councilors of the China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development. He is part of the Management Committee of HRH The Prince of Wales’s Business & The Environment Programme at Cambridge University. From 1994-1999, Mr. McDonough was the Edward E. Elson Professor of Architecture and Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia.

The founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, an internationally recognized design firm practicing ecologically, socially, and economically intelligent architecture and planning in the U.S. and abroad, McDonough is also principal of MBDC, a product and systems development firm assisting prominent client companies in designing profitable and environmentally intelligent solutions. Mr. McDonough is a Venture Partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners in San Bruno, California.

The 10th Annual Innovation Awards honor individuals and organizations that have made noteworthy contributions to the marketplace and community in the past year through entrepreneurship and the creation, commercialization, or application of technology. CIA award recipients will be announced at CBIC’s annual dinner to be held on Thursday, May 22 at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville.

Advance registration to the event is required. Tickets are on sale at CvilleBIC.org now through May 16 or until the event sells out. Payment may be made by major credit card or through Google Checkout. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Tracey Linkous, CIA Chair, at 434-242-5886 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Lianne Landers, Vice Chair at 434-243-2196 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About Charlottesville Business Innovation Council

CBIC is the preeminent private-sector advocate and catalyst for entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development in our region. It serves its members by providing advocacy, educational programming, and by bringing people together through its network of members and contacts. CBIC has over 300 individuals, companies and organizations as members representing more than 11,000 people in the work force.