In one week, over 100 Ontario Technology CEOs and special guests will be gathered together for the hottest networking event in town. Where is that you ask? Why, the AceTech Ontario Annual Retreat no less!
At AceTech Ontario, our goal is to facilitate Conversations that Create Value. Members are offered the exclusive opportunity to be among a community of leading professionals in their specific field of business. Every year, members walk away from the retreat with tools and strategies that can be put into action in each member’s company the very next day. We make sure to tap into the expertise of CEOs that have had real successes and can share practical tips from the front lines with our members.
Every retreat is a total immersion into the core of how technology businesses work and how these core principals can be put to use in every AceTech Ontario member’s company. From advanced business concepts to everyday work problems, the Annual Retreat empowers the CEO from the next day back at work, and through the next several years of career success.
Want to get on the A-List for next year’s retreat and benefit from year-round programming?
Contact Jo Ann Dizy about membership opportunities.
This year’s Annual Retreat will take place at the beautiful JW Marriott Resort on Lake Rosseau. Many of the speakers and other highlights are outlined below. It will be another innovative, provocative and worthwhile agenda!
In addition to the formal programming, there is optional golf, a bike tour and guided paddle tour before check in. Our traditional Casino Night sponsored by Bedford Consulting is back again with fabulous prizes! Lastly, we are excited to share that we will be taking part in a dinner cruise & ski show! These events will not only be a great deal of fun but will provide numerous opportunities to network with all our technology CEOs and discuss issues pertinent to your business.
Our event app, which was generously provided by our member company EventMobi, has an exciting new addition…gamification! Now attendees will have the opportunity to have a friendly competition with their peers and a further opportunity to network and win prizes. The grand gamification prize is a private 2 night getaway for 6 at an exclusive winery in Ontario.
“The Rules of Opportunity” Keynote with Michael Hyatt, BlueCat Networks Inc.
Michael Hyatt, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of BlueCat Networks Inc. and professional speaker with Speakers.ca and the National Speakers Bureau, “Dragon”, Next Gen Den | Entrepreneur and Technology Visionary.
Michael Hyatt is a serial entrepreneur, active investor and the Executive Chairman of Bluecat, one of Canada’s most successful software companies. Michael is a weekly business commentator on CBC’s The Exchange, CBC’s Business Panel and a Dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den – Next Gen Den. Michael is a Founding Partner at the Rotman School of Management Creative Destruction Lab and on the CEO Board of Advisors at Georgian Partners. He is also a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40™ Award and chairs his family’s charitable foundation. Michael is an active speaker with Speakers Spotlight and the National Speakers Bureau. Michael also co-founded Dyadem which was purchased by IHS (NYSE: IHS).
Keynote with Pierre Cléroux, BDC
Pierre Cléroux will deliver an informative presentation as he provides economic analyses and advice to our CEOs, while helping interpret economic trends and their impact on businesses.
Pierre Cléroux was appointed Vice President, Research and Chief Economist at the Business Development Bank of Canada in 2012. He is responsible for providing economic analyses and advice to the Senior Management Team, while helping interpret economic trends and their impact on businesses. His responsibilities also include all marketing and industry research activities.
3 TECH TALKS on Strategic Change Leadership followed by a Panel Discussion on Strategies to Motivate and Manage During Change
Our businesses are constantly pivoting and our organizations are under stress to increase revenue, hire new staff, and deal with ever changing competition and a dynamic environment. How do we deal with changes inside and outside our organizations? How do we successfully implement change? And how do we best plan for change? We want to lead into our Retreat by thinking about Growth and Change Management.
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| Mike Katchen Wealth Simple |
Mark Miller Volaris Group |
Chris Rasmussen Doxim |
3 TECH TALKS on Sales, Sales Tools & Social Selling followed by a Panel Discussion
We are privileged to have three experienced Sales Professionals speak on different aspects of Sales in the B2B space, and then they will come together for a moderated panel discussion with interaction from the audience. Some topics will include:
- Interdependence between sales and marketing in B2B selling, both internally and in the broader B2B ecosystem
- Effectiveness: How to turn around an under-performing sales team – how to manage for success, recruiting attracting and retaining high performing sales people
- Efficiency: What tools are available to increase the efficiency of our sales?
- Social: How do we take advantage of Social Selling? Is it a time waster? What are the drivers for success?
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| Justin Lafayette Georgian Partners |
Eric Schefler Oracle Corporation |
Bob Vaez EventMobi |
3 TECH TALKS on Marketing Automation, Social Leads and Branding, followed by a Panel Discussion
We are looking forward to our three short presentations and moderated panel discussion on Marketing with our exciting lineup of experienced speakers. They will be talking about:
- Social lead nurturing
- How can we implement Marketing Automation?
- Win/Loss and Churn Analysis … getting the buyer’s candid review of why you lose, and how you can win more
- Branding and marketing of SaaS based B2B technology companies. What do we need to know to be best in class? How do you turn a good marketing campaign in to revenue?
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| Alan Armstrong Eigenworks Inc. |
Krista LaRiviere gShift Labs |
Kristy Sadler Docebo |
Lisa Shepherd The Mezzanine Group |
Being a Leader: The Ability to Allow Yourself to Learn Continuously
Mark Miller, CEO Volaris Group
Mark will speak about one of the things he looks for in a leader: the ability to continue to learn. Businesses today are complicated – they can be global in nature, have consolidation going on – and needs are constantly changing. As well, customers are all expecting different things, including more interactivity with mobile application with their data or with your solutions.
All of these things are really complicated and figuring out how to navigate everything is a monumental task. It’s near impossible to figure it all out by yourself. You really need to learn from others. You need to read about different issues, connect online, find people and peers who are solving similar problems, and continue to learn. When a manager and a leader wants to learn, it sets a great example for everyone who works for them and anyone who works with them because that whole culture of learning gives the organization, whole team, and that company’s customers a real edge.
The ROI of Intentionally Building a Healthy and Happy Workplace Culture
Jason Atkins, CEO 360Insights
Jason Atkins will discuss the ROI of intentionally building a healthy and happy workplace culture. The talk will demonstrate the ROI in terms of:
- Savings on candidate attraction/retention
- Broader ROI metrics related to improved productivity, attendance and others
- Effect of culture on client retention
How to Grow Through Acquisitions
Noam Tomczak, COO Iotum
Acquisitions when done well can be an excellent way to grow both your top and bottom line. Success requires both careful planning and execution. Buying competitors can result in lower customer acquisition cost than your typical sales funnel. Additionally, margins in the target company can be vastly improved if you can integrate infrastructure and people successfully. Noam will share Iotum’s 2 year journey of growth through 4 acquisitions and lessons learned.
Aligning Your Sales Team and Your Buyers: Driving a Sales Process to Scale Your Business
Dan Marcus, VP, Operational Excellence Intelex
As your sales team grows it is imperative that you have tight processes in place not only to hit your growth numbers but so you can effectively analyze your sales KPIs, identify trends and ensure every deal and sales person has the best chance of winning. Daniel Marcus, a veteran at Intelex, will summarize the process of building a winning sales process that aligns the buyers and sellers journey with various tools, resource, job roles and KPIs.