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Times have been tough for Arizona's tech industry over the past year, and the loss of one of its foremost leaders won't make it any easier.
Those who knew Ed Denison say it will be a long time before he can be replaced.
"Ed's loss will be felt. There's no question it's going to be felt," said Quinn Williams, a partner with Phoenix law firm Greenberg Traurig and a board member of the Arizona Technology Council.
"We're in a transition period with a new governor, new legislature, and it's going to be incumbent upon us to develop new champions for the tech and entrepreneurial communities," he said.
"To replace him will take someone to put some time in to educate themselves on the issues as well as get the trust and respect that Ed enjoyed," Williams added. "He will be difficult to replace."
Denison, president of the Arizona Technology Council, formerly AZSoft.net, died at home of an apparent heart attack Aug. 24, He was 55.
The timing of his death has left business leaders shocked and the tech community reeling.
Laraine Rodgers, president of the Arizona Partnership for Higher Education and Learning and an Arizona Technology Council board member, said, "We have lost...