'No Name Group' unites LI's software companies

They are members of a newly revived Long Island business organization, the No Name Group, but they are hardly no-names. They are the chief executives of some of the Island's better-known software companies, including Fatwire of Mineola and Prime Visibility of Melville.

We say newly revived because years ago, the late Paul Townsend, publisher and owner of Long Island Business News of Ronkonkoma, started a No Name Club, made up of some of the region's best-known political, business and civic leaders, who would meet occasionally to discuss issues confronting the Island.

Fast-forward to last spring, and the new No Name Group was given life by Peter Goldsmith, chairman of the Long Island Software and Technology Network. "We've had three sessions." Goldsmith said, referring to dinners the group of about 15 software chief executives had at the La Spada restaurant in Huntington Station.

"I copied the name, but our idea is more focused," Goldsmith said. "It's just software" executives, he said.

"We feel software is going to be the backbone of the renewed Long Island economy. We felt if we got together informally, got to know one another, Long Island companies might be more likely to use one another's services." That may already be happening. Andrew Hazen, chief executive of Prime Visibility, and Yogish Gupta of Fatwire, are talking about some type of working relationship.

"I wholeheartedly give credit to the No Name Group" for the arrangement with Fatwire, said Hazen. The No Name organization, Gupta said, is "a smaller group so it does allow for concrete conversations."