We’re about half-way through the year, and the Consumer Technology Association has already announced the keynote speaker for the 2023 CES (Consumer Electronics Show).
You’ll never guess who it is. Not in 186 years (a figure I’ll mention later in the column).
CTA’s members include companies like Toshiba, 3M, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ford Motor Co., Dish Network, Nvidia Corp., Texas Instruments and Netflix.
But the keynote will be delivered by the president of a company not generally thought of as high tech.
In fact, the company was founded by a blacksmith who developed a steel plow in 1837 that could be used to clear land without having to stop every few minutes to clean clumped-up dirt from the blades. “Self scouring,” they called it.
John Deere was the young blacksmith — then 33. Today the president and CEO of the company is John May, only the company’s 10th executive officer in its history. He has been there 25 years and has held about 10 different jobs in four John Deere business divisions during that time, a company spokesman said.
The company has more than 75,000 employees worldwide, producing everything from lawn-care equipment to heavy industrial and agricultural machinery.
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So what is John Deere doing at an electronics show noted for introducing things like the computer mouse, video-cassette recorder and DVD player?
Surprisingly, John Deere had a presence in this year’s CES. The company demonstrated a tractor that operated without a driver. The machine would only support the plowing of fields; it did not do seeding or harvesting.
CES 2023 will be held Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas, when the Consumer Technology Association will partner with the World Academy of Art and Science “to showcase the critical role of technology in support of the United Nations’ efforts to advance human security for all,” according to a CES press release.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the consumer association, said that technological innovation “gives us the tools to work toward a better world and has always been the catalyst for historic change. We are proud to partner with the World Academy of Art and Science in support of the United Nations. Now more than ever, people are looking to the tech industry for leadership as we develop creative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.”
May, John Deere’s chairman, added: “The opportunity for technology and sustainability to positively impact the world is most present in agriculture, where farmers continue to be challenged to feed our growing population. John Deere is focused on developing technology with a purpose, to make our customers more efficient and sustainable. The work they do affects every single person and we’re honored to have the opportunity to help tell their story on the mainstage.”
John Deere has been exhibiting its products at CES since 2019. But this is the first time in the 50-plus year history of CES that an agriculture-technology company executive will deliver the keynote address.
Almost 30 years ago, the Nvidia Corp. came into being with the vision that there would be a home machine for playing games and watching multimedia.
Nearly 50 years ago, Microsoft came into being from a desire to make software for the Atari 8088 personal computer.
And nearly 186 years ago, John Deere would make a plow that dirt wouldn’t stick to — and in doing so, resulted in a keynote address to the world’s largest technology show.
Lonnie Brown can be reached at LedgerDatabase@aol.com.
