Hubert Saint Onge, Founder and Principal, SaintOnge Alliance

"Deal's done: How to make it really work"

The current economic context is undoubtedly creating havoc in the market place but it also presents unprecedented opportunities for mergers and acquisitions. More than just 'bucking the trend', M&A's can open up new strategic possibilities. But the harsh reality is that most deals fail.  Why?  Because the companies didn't plan, didn't prepare, and didn't perform up to expectations.  They didn't think beyond the deal: there's more to mergers and acquisitions than "the art of the deal." 

In this presentation, Hubert Saint-Onge will draw from his new book "Beyond the Deal" to show how some organizations have been able to successfully target, acquire and integrate.  Some of the questions covered will include: Why do some many acquisitions fail?

• What is the business rationale for successful acquisitions?
• What are the pre-conditions for success?
• How do you identify strategic targets that will add value?
• How do you ensure the readiness of your company either as a target or an acquirer?

Hubert will refer to many examples of famous successes and notorious failures to demonstrate the key principles he will share with us to ensure the next acquisition you are part of will serve to realize your aspirations.

About Hubert

Hubert Saint-Onge is the founder and Principal of SaintOnge Alliance. In addition to holding key senior management positions in leading companies over the past 25 years, he has developed and refined a model called the Knowledge Assets Framework. This model strategically integrates business plans with branding, leadership and people management in order to optimize the performance of an organization.

Judy Bradt, Principal, Summit Insight

"Winning Real Opportunities: The U.S. Stimulus Anti-hype"

American government contracts -- now more than ever -- represent prospects for long term success. (Those who win) take seven critical steps. Find out what those are. Is this the right time for you to invest in developing this new market? Learn the five clues to whether its good business for your business, and what else is essential for you to know as a Canadian business owner.

About Judy

Judy Bradt is one of North America's top champions for companies taking their first steps in government contracts, and a trusted advisor on growing your profit with the world's biggest buyer. Since 1988, she has counselled more than 6000 clients who credit her advice for winning more than $300 million in government business. As Principal of Summit Insight in Washington DC, Judy's an expert author, speaker and consultant who specializes in giving business owners the insight they need to win government contracts. She's been covered by national media including Fortune Small Business, ABC Radio, CTV Television, the Financial Post, Canadian Business, and Entrepreneur Magazine. Find out more at www.summitinsight.com. Prior to founding Summit Insight, Judy was Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Washington for 15 years, specializing in the U.S. federal market. She is also a pilot and a rock-climbing instructor, so no matter how steep the climb for your business, she can take you all the way. For Judy Bradt and her clients, the sky is no limit!

Gerry Remers, President and COO, Christie Digital Systems Canada

"Redefining Digital Media: These are not your parent's video games"

The digital media industry today isn't quite the digital media you thought you knew. Digital Media has securely hit its stride in the mass consumer market, but more important is the technology underlying recent change. From digital film to interactive hardware, from leading edge web-based interfacing to next generation architecture and design, Gerry walks us through a vision of the near future with plenty of wide open industrial applications to consider - and Waterloo Region is well-poised with the expertise, leading tech companies and educational institutions to lead the charge.

 About Gerry

Gerry Remers is President and COO of Christie Digital Systems, a global leader in Digital Cinema and manufacturer of a wide range of digital projection technologies and solutions.  Overseeing engineering, operations and global quality, Gerry has spearheaded research and development, successfully leading the Company's rapid expansion into new markets for digital projection.  Under his leadership, Christie has quadrupled in size since 2001, significantly increasing its manufacturing capabilities, and was recently ranked among the Financial Post's 10 best employers to work for.

Startup and SMEs have been predicated on securing funding through private equity or angel rounds, but that just won't fly in the new state of economy. There's a hidden gem here, however, that it forces entrepreneurial companies to re-focus on what's important: the customer. Mike and George will speak about the new commodity of creating tech companies, which is more realistic, more sustainable and better for everyone in the long run - as long as you can get your first customer…

About Mike McDerment, co-founder and CEO, FreshBooks

Freshbooks is Planet earth's leading online invoicing app for service oriented professionals, freelancers and teams. Back in 2003, Mike built FreshBooks for his design firm and scratched his own itch. Since launching in May 2004 FreshBooks has touched over 800,000 lives and Mike and his team dedicate themselves to being a great service for people who love their work, and want to focus on it - instead of focusing on their paperwork.

About George Tsiolis, Founder, AGORACOM

George Tsiolis is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and the Founder of AGORACOM, a second-generation financial community that has successfully eliminated epidemic levels of spam, bashing and profanity that plagued first-generation communities. AGORACOM accomplished this by rejecting the traditional advertising model and deploying a SaaS model that provides public companies with an ability to build shareholder communities.  The results have crushed advertising supported incumbents, with over 1.3 million investors visiting the site 7.9 million times and reading 97 million pages in 2008.  AGORACOM is now generating 7-digit annual revenues and profits. Proof positive that you should "get customers first, funders later."

Ian Cameron, Vice-President of Training Implementations, AchieveGlobal

"Creating a Change-capable Organization"

Managers and supervisors are the real hands-on, get-it-done change makers in your organization. Closest to your employees, they are in an ideal position to create a critical mass of change capability. Learn best practices that leading organizations employ to create change-capable environments and build change-capable teams. You'll walk away with tools and techniques to help managers drive change throughout your workforce.

About Ian

As AchieveGlobal's Vice President of Training Implementations and a certified AchieveGlobal trainer, Ian acts as a consultant to many client organizations helping them clarifying and communicating organizational strategy and design and implement organizational change. He has been the lead consultant on projects for organizations such as AGFA HealthCare, Cadillac Fairview, Shoppers Drug Mart, Rogers Communications Inc., Manulife Financial, The University of Waterloo, Ontario Securities Commission, Sandvine and The Co-operators.

Mark Evans, Principal, ME Consulting

"Deep Dive on Social Media Tools"

Do you tweet? Losing sleep over who's not following your blog? Getting lost trying to keep up with your Facebook, LinkedIn and RSS feeds? What's a mashup, how do you get one, and why bother? Mark knows social media tools and, more important, will help you get the most out of using them, what to avoid, and how to manage and enhance your use of social media to your advantage. Mark will explore social media tools, which ones matter, how to use them effectively, and offer some successful case studies. You'll leave with a few things you should do immediately to use social media more effectively.

About Mark

Mark is a marketing and communications consulting strategist who specializes in social media. I recently started my consulting firm, ME Consulting. He's worked for three startups - Blanketware (natural language search), b5media (one of the world's largest blog networks) and PlanetEye (online travel planning). Mark also spent 10 years as a technology reporter (mostly covering the Internet and telecom) for the National Post, Bloomberg News and the Globe & Mail.