CEO Vision :: Past Editions

During his speech, Mr. Caron will briefly present the financial statements and will draw a comparison between 2002 and 2003. He will also check up on the main differentiating characteristics between a firm that focuses on Engineering VS a firm that focuses on Sales. It will be also question of sales price management and management of the human resources changes i.e. Mr. Caron assumption of the position of President/founder and how it was done.

It will be also question, on the financial plan, of securities and how Lyrtech who was a public company wasn’t managed this way. Mr. Caron will talk about the relations with the creditors that are an important element in the process of turnaround. Finally, Intellectual Properties (IP) and the means to get them.

Miguel Caron President and CEO of Lyrtech inc., has graduated from Royal military College in military strategies. He is an executive in sales, marketing, finance and operation focus on results, with more than 12 years experience in corporation management. He has an extended experience in the reach of high objectives in terms of revenues/profits and productivity in the context of highly competitive national and international markets. He has the capabilities to identify business opportunities and using with efficiency talents to thrive the increase, reduce costs, improve marketing positioning and tightening financial performance. He has led several private and public companies such as Koala International Wireless inc (NASDAQ KIWI), NoWire Telecom and Atlas Telecom Mobile. He was highly involved in the growth of companies such as Wysdom, Cognicase, Future Electronics and Future Shop.

Louis Doyle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration from the Université du Québec à Montréal and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. Louis Doyle spent 18 years, prior to joining TSX Venture Exchange, with Bourse de Montréal, assisting entrepreneurs to access the Canadian Equity Markets and assuming various management responsabilities in the areas of Business Development, Corporate Finance and Regulation Development.

Since October 1, 2001, Louis Doyle has been the Vice-President, Montréal for TSX Venture Exchange. In this role, he leads all TSX Venture Exchange activities within the Montréal office by defining and implementing goals, policies and plans that are aligned with the mission and strategies of the organization. His responsibilities include acting as an expert advisor to the President with respect to Business Development and Corporate Finance in Québec. Louis Doyle maintains communication with the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec (“CVMQ”) and other government agencies. Finally, he also represents TSX Venture Exchange with external groups including other organizations, industry committees and professional groups. Louis Doyle played a prominent role in faciliting the transitional to TSX Venture for former Bourse de Montréal listed companies.

Our lives have completely changed over the last decades and these changes are happening at a pace that is moving quicker and quicker. Major social changes have created an increase in the number of requests we have to fulfill. We are facing multiple changes at work, in the family, in leisure, in our relations with children etc.; new concepts are changing our values, our culture and our relations with others. The fast speed-up in the production has created an incitation never seen in the history of humanity. Excellence, performance and success at any cost are now guiding the way we organize our lives. The value of time is now totally obsolete. The reaction of stress is continuously activitated. Somehow, can we protect ourselves, ensure our well being and balance and reach for the other? Do we have the power to take control of our lives? Are we able to re-discover, daily, the essential? Is it possible in this world to continue to grow?

This conference will try to give a few answers to these diverse questions. The objective, by the end of the conference, is to create the urge and give food for thought that could be developed further between people who have the same concern.

Serge Marquis completed his medical studies in 1977. The following year, he developed an interest in labour medicine. He completed his master’s in this field at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1980. He became a specialist in community health in 1982. For over 20 years, he has been interested in the health of organizations. He has developed a particular interest in stress and professional exhaustion. He has taken the position of consultant, coach and speaker for numerous public and private companies. He has also helped a large number of people who were dysfunctional at work. Six years ago, he created his own consulting company in the field of mental health at work, called: T.O.R.T.U.E. He acts also as a consultant for numerous organizations in the private sector, and the health and education networks. He is the author, with Eugene Houde, of “Bienvenue parmi les humains”.

Estelle's very practical presentation clearly explains what Competitive Intelligence really is: supporting the decisions with facts, not anecdotes; avoiding surprises; knowing your competitors future moves and challenging common wisdom.

Estelle's presentation always creates for the participants an urge to act on their Competitive Intelligence processes internally... to the points that some participants have left the room to call their teams during the session to start implementing some of the tools she demonstrated !

Estelle Métayer is president of Competia, North America’s leading supplier of consulting services and tailored training programs for both senior executives and professionals in the fields of strategic planning and competitive intelligence. Competia’s flagship product, Competia.com, is the world's largest community, portal and magazine for strategic planning and competitive intelligence professionals. Competia.com enables thousands of registered users to access a wealth of resources every month. Competia exports in 96 countries and Competia site receives over 750,000 hits each month. Estelle gained experience in financial risk management with the ING Bank in the Netherlands and Poland, and in international business development with the Bouygues group in France and the UK before joining the prestigious strategy consulting firm McKinsey & Company and then CAE, where she was responsible for the strategic planning and competitive intelligence for all nine product lines, Estelle received in 2000 the Arista-Sunlife award for “Entrepreneur of the Year”. She was a finalist to the YWCA “Women of Merit” award in 2001, and received the “Leadership Award” from the MS Society in 2003. She is a former Board Member of World Youth Canada and currently sits on the Board of the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal since 2002. Estelle is also a wife, a mother, and a commercial pilot.

Das Narayandas is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.
Das teaches the Business Marketing Elective in the MBA program, and is the Chair of the Business Marketing Strategy for senior sales and marketing executives at the Harvard Business School. He was the Class Day faculty speaker for the MBA Class of 2001. He also received the award for teaching excellence from the MBA Class of 2000 and, more recently, from the MBA Class of 2003.
Das's background includes over six years of management experience in sales and marketing for various multinational firms that involved field sales and salesforce management, new product development, alliance formation, and marketing communications.

In a vibrant setting, Messrs. Faraj Nakhleh and Christian Belair will present the approach for financing an IT firm using an actual company, Invidex, as an example.Although the economic backdrop of 2003 soured investors, Montréal-based Invidex succeeded in generating financing to continue its operations. One year later, the company’s client list features some of the most prestigious media firms around, including the BBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, GloboTV, TVA, the Weather Channel, TV Azteca, Artear and TVN Chile, providing the firm with access to 80 telecommunications networks that broadcast to over 75 cities around the world.

Faraj Nakhleh, eng., is a Partner with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton and the President of RCGT Corporate Financing Inc. Mr. Nakhleh has over 30 years of experience in the information technologies sector.Faraj provides financial consulting services to entrepreneurs as well as guidance related to strategic alliances and mergers/acquisitions for both the start-up and implementation phase of new initiatives. His achievements have helped him establish a vast business network that comprises venture-capital firms in Québec and Canada as well as a number of U.S. companies. He has also contributed to financing over 30 IT firms. Mr. Nakhleh pursued his studies at Robert College, McGill University and at the Harvard Business School.
Christian Belair brings to the table 20-plus years of experience in the technology and telecommunications sectors, most notably as Vice-President, Marketing and Distribution Channels, for AT&T Canada, Vice-President, Long-Distance Marketing Services for Metronet Communications Group Inc. and Vice-President, Business Development, for Posicom Inc.In 2001, this wealth of experience resulted in Christian being named President of IT firm Invidex, an innovative company in terms of infrastructure and telecommunications.

Captain Piché's feat is considered by many the greatest achievement in the world of modern aviation. He and his crew were able to face a disaster situation by using their skills, their experience and the crew coordination.
As he says since, he only did his job! Sure, but what are the factors that made that landing possible under the circonstances?
Find out how Captain Piché had managed to focus with 30% remaining of the plane capacity, instead of asking himself the reason of the lost 70%.
Captain Piché, a good inspiration to everyone of never giving up! Everything is possible if you believe in it!

Captain Robert Piché made international headlines after an emergency landing of a flight, Toronto- Lisbonne, that ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean with 304 people on board. Captain Piché was in command of a A-330 Airbus carrying 291 passengers and 13 crew members. Captain Piché was forced to perform an emergency landing without engines in the Açores, Portugal. After 18 minutes of gliding Captain Piché and his crew managed a successful landing. This achievement is considered to be the greatest achievement in the world of modern aviation.

Do you ever wonder if you have what it takes to take your company to its next level of success? Do you wish you had a mentor; someone to tell you what skills you personally need to develop for each stage of value creation? In this session you will have the opportunity to learn the key success factors that you, as CEO, need to master whether you are leading a small, start up company, or a highly successful multi-national concern. This interactive session will let you experience, first hand, new tools, skills and ideas that will position you for success today and in to the future.

Gaylene Xanthopoulos has a passion for helping people reach their potential. A successful businesswoman in her own right, Gaylene creates and presents custom training programs and keynote speeches that impart business skills to corporate leaders who are highly trained in academic fields other than business. Xanthopoulos is President of The Leadership Edge, a training organization she founded in 1989, to provide leadership, management, and business development programs to executives and managers striving to reach their highest potential.
Xanthopoulos has served on the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association, San Diego Chapter and has been the recipient of numerous awards for her business and leadership successes. Her articles on business training trends appear regularly in professional periodicals, and she acts as an expert resource for radio and television business news programs. She is the author of Tips, Techniques & Strategies On Referrals, From The Laboratory To Leadership, and a contributing author in A Women's Way to Incredible Success in Business. Xanthopoulos holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.