Local businessman meets with elite company in D.C.

Good thing Sarasota entrepreneur David Grain isn't bashful.

That's because Grain, whose firm leases cell tower space to government entities, recently spent a day at the White House in what could have been a pretty intimidating setting. Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications mogul considered the richest man in the world, sat to one side of Grain. Senior White House aides dominated the other side of the table.

The Obama administration invited Grain, Slim and a few other wireless and IT entrepreneurs to talk about ways to accelerate job growth in the sectors. The daylong conference stems from several recent reports that predict major growth in mobile phone and smartphone use in the next five years — even greater than the past five years.
Grain, a onetime high-ranking executive with AT&T Broadband who now runs Grain Communications Group, weighed in on the issues. He cited the need for companies to expand responsibly to facilitate sustainable growth. “I'm not shy about getting my thoughts out there,” Grain tells Coffee Talk after the conference. “The White House does a terrific job of bringing in people and adjusting policies on what they hear from experts.”

Grain's had previous contact with the Obama administration. He was one of five executives nationwide the president appointed to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in July. Fellow recent council appointees include Donald Knauss, chairman and CEO of the Clorox Co., and Beverly Scott, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. The council works with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to study information systems behind critical infrastructure.