Gaylene Xanthopoulos will assist you in identifying and developing the six characteristics that will create the CEO Magnetism that will ensure your success at every stage of organizational development. In addition, she will identify the skill sets that you must develop in order to drive your business to its next level of success.

Gaylene is known for her ability to get executives highly engaged in meaningful activities and thought provoking discussions. She combines these peer interactions with her personal anecdotes that are based on 20 years of experience working with top entrepreneurs from technology based companies, as well as, the VC’s, Private Equity firms and Hedgefunds who invest in them. Gaylene Xanthopoulos has a passion for helping people to reach their potential and founded The Leadership Edge in 1989 to provide leadership, management, and business development programs to scientists, engineers and their executives. She is the author of numerous books, articles and programs which have been experienced by thousands of leaders nationwide. Gaylene holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Mark Herndon serves as president of Dallas-based Parkwood Advisors, LLC, a diversified professional services firm focused on M&A, investment banking and private equity financing; and the development of early-stage and mid-market technology-oriented companies. He formerly served as U.S. Region Leader for merger and acquisition services with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global consulting firm. Mark is co-author of “The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions: Process Tools to support M&A Integration at Every Level”. Mark earned the distinction of “Top Ten Graduating Seniors” at Oklahoma State University where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree. He subsequently earned the Executive Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas, where he currently serves as Executive in Residence with the Graduate School of Management.

Le secteur des technologies de l'information évolue rapidement. Dans un contexte de mondialisation tumultueux, Jean-Daniel Brisson du groupe-conseil Stratégie et performance de Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton vous propose une démarche pour identifier et saisir les meilleures opportunités de croissance et surtout pour capitaliser sur la relance de façon concrète, en ciblant les efforts de développement de votre entreprise.

Jean-Daniel Brisson, M.Sc., CMC est directeur principal de la pratique des services conseils en stratégie. Il compte plus de 18 ans d‘expérience, dont plus de sept années en entreprise. Il possède une solide expertise en matière de stratégie d’entreprise. Avant de joindre RCGT, Jean-Daniel était responsable de coordonner le processus de planification stratégique au sein d’une multinationale pendant près de six ans et il a piloté divers exercices de planification à l’échelle de l’Amérique du Nord. Il a également été directeur des services conseils en stratégie dans un grand cabinet international.
Il a piloté plusieurs interventions en consultation, tant auprès de filiales de sociétés multinationales qu’auprès de PME technologiques. Il possède une solide connaissance des organismes de développement économique et des secteurs émergents tels que les technologies de l’information et les sciences de la vie.
 

Rene Vezina is one of "LES AFFAIRES" columnist and blogger. This weekly newpaper is devoted to business and economic issues and reaches more than 400 000 readers.
Rene Vezina started his career 30 years ago as a reporter for the CBC in the Gaspe region, in eastern Quebec. He then joined the national network in Montreal, before leaving to work for private video companies shooting documentaries around the world.
Back in Montreal in the 90’s, he became host of a weekly newsmagazine on the TVA television network, FINANCES. In the year 2000, he joined Transcontinental Medias and its publishing business, being named editor-in-chief of COMMERCE magazine, before being called to its the sister publication, LES AFFAIRES.
Meanwhile, he still acts as a guest commentator on the radio, twice a day, at 98,5 FM in Montreal. He is also regularly on air at Radio-Canada and he just published an essay, « Comment parler aux médias », published by Transcontinental.
He got his diploma in journalism from Laval University, in Quebec city, in 1976.
 

8:30 a.m.

Bud Taylor
Consultant and Author of "Customer Driven Change: What Your Customers Know; Your Employees Think; Your Managers Overlook"
You’ve cut costs & protected your cash & balance sheet? Now isn’t it time for some new ideas?

The last year may haven’t been a lot of fun for you or your customers. Everyone knows that survival was job #1 for many companies, but that’s forced them into short term thinking about their customers. Customers may be willing to forgive, but they haven’t forgotten. Even though they're saving more than before, they want to come back into the market. But they don’t want to same-old-same-old. What new innovation is in your pipeline? You might have to intersect the following four factors and find some game changing white space for your customers: customer insights, discontinuities, core competence, paradigms. As an example, Lego saved its whole business by driving innovation around a small customer insight: “fathers buy toys for boys, but mothers buy games for the family.”

Bud Taylor is an accomplished author, speaker, and change management consultant with over 30 years of experience. Bud has developed a powerful message showing you how to transform your organization by knowing what your customers know. As a speaker, Bud differentiates himself from others based on his continued consulting experience and significant business positions at Deloitte and Synovate Loyalty and marquee global clients including Microsoft Europe, Whirpool Corporation, Toyota (South Africa), Sony Electronics, Canadian Pacific, Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation and National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia. He maintains his international consulting practice through corporate alliances with MASMI Research out of London, Strategos Consulting of Chicago and ISB Worldwide in Dallas. Bud’s change management philosophy and approach are discussed in his book: Customer Driven Change: What Your Customers Know; Your Employees Think; Your Managers Overlook.

Designing a sales compensation program that is strategically focused and appropriately leveraged requires a deep understanding of your company’s overall business context and sales processes. During this discussion, we will explore the business drivers that underlie sales compensation plans – all the things you should consider before designing and implementing the sales compensation plan. Key discussion points: strategic focus of the sales effort, sales and sales management processes, and compensation.

Reese Bacon is a Principal in Mercer’s Human Capital Business and specializes in sales force effectiveness issues. Based in San Francisco, he leads the Sales Effectiveness segment in Mercer’s West Unit in the United States. Mr. Bacon consults with a variety of technology, healthcare and general industry companies. Recent technology clients include Google, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, and Yahoo! Mr. Bacon holds a M.B.A. in Finance from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Psychology from Eastern College in St. David’s, Pennsylvania.