Tech

Here's what tech CEOs want to hear from Trump, according to one investor

McNamee: Tech wants what the market wants—stablity
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McNamee: Tech wants what the market wants—stablity

Technology executives need president-elect Donald Trump to lay out a clear set of rules, particularly for U.S.-China relations, one investor said.

"I think the ... thing tech wants is stability," Roger McNamee, co-founder of technology investment firm Elevation Partners, told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" on Monday.

"I think it wants the same thing that the market wants long term, which is a consistent set of rules that it can operate under. And I think the thing that we have going on right now is serious inconsistency, particularly in respect to our relationships in trade," McNamee said.

Major technology leaders, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos are slated to meet with Trump this week. Recode reports Bezos will be joined by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet CEO Larry Page and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Many of these companies operate heavily abroad — Apple's supplier dossier lists about 350 addresses in China, for instance. But Trump has called for steep tariffs on trade there, and has stirred the pot with a conversation with the Taiwanese president. Carly Fiorina, who is reportedly under consideration to be Donald Trump's director of national intelligence, called the Asian nation "our most important adversary."

"I look at things with China. If you're a technology company, the current situation with China throws your entire planning process into confusion," McNamee said. "If they can resolve that kind of stuff, that will be huge progress. If they can't, I think its hard to be a tech CEO right now."

Analyst: It's possible tech leaders and Trump can find common ground
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Analyst: It's possible tech leaders and Trump can find common ground

But Instinet internet analyst Anthony DiClemente said that it's possible for technology companies to find a common ground with Trump if the president-elect backs off from some of the "bluster" of the campaign.

For instance, while Amazon works with sellers in China, it isn't necessarily an outsourcer of jobs, DiClemente told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday.

"I don't think when it comes to stocks that there's a lot that should get in the way in terms of secular tailwinds for companies like Amazon," DiClemente said. "If anything, Amazon is a company whose goals are consistent with Trump's: moderately skilled labor here in the U.S. Amazon needs that in the distribution centers to build out its logistics networks locally."

DiClemente said the postelection jitters could be a buying opportunity for some of the growing technology stocks like Facebook and Amazon. But while he's long been a fan of companies like Amazon, McNamee said he's "reassessing everything" about his investing strategy as he stares down four years of a Trump presidency.

"I've got to be honest with you....I'm trying to figure out which way is up," McNamee said, adding: "I do think the position of growth and the position of technology in our economy is less certain today than it has been in a couple of generations."

Disclosure: Instinet has more than 1 percent stock ownership in Amazon and Amazon is an investment banking client.