Your New Customer: The State

摘要

Five months ago, Willem Houck was working with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to put eco - friendly TVs in its inns. Today, Houck, a vice-president for strategy and business development at Philips North America, is meeting with admirals who want to make naval bases in the Southwestern U.S. more energy-efficient. "Ifrnyou'd told me I'd be talking about how to create a sustainable U.S. Navy base," Houck says, "I'dhave said you were crazy." From Beijing to Washington, govern -rnments are unleashing billions of dollars of stimulus spending on energy, health care, and infrastructure projects. And with private demand collapsing, executives are scrambling to get a piece of it. George Nolen, CEO of Siemens Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of the German giant, aims to win $75 billion of Washington's $787 billion stimulus package. "If you're not prepared," says Nolen, "you will not be able to take advantage."rnSome companies have been working with the public sector for years. General Electric's aviation and energy units, for example, have long had federal con -tracts. But GE is so eager to get in on the new action that it is tracking stimulus money and public - sector contracts in two dozen countries and is encouraging business units with government experience to share information with other divisions.