It holds the promise of being the best Communitech Tech Leadership Conference yet, as the lineup of keynote speakers and breakout session speakers comes together for the 2013 event in Waterloo Region on March 7th.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, coming off the worldwide launch of the BB10, will share his insights with the Region that is home to Canada’s top tech company.
Seth Godin, best-selling author, businessman and marketing pioneer and author of 14 books, is adding Waterloo Region to the locales where he has shared his expertise.
And Patrick Pichette, Sr. VP and CFO of Google, will provide his perspectives based on nearly 20 years of experience in financial operations and management in the telecommunications sector.
“We’re pumped about the calibre of speakers and the level of discussion that is going to take place at this year’s Tech Leadership Conference,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech which hosts the annual conference. “This is the must-attend event of the year for the tech community in Southwestern Ontario.”
The lineup of breakout sessions and speakers will be a major draw, with the following thought leaders fuelling discussion:
Colin and Julie Angus: Dynamite Duo – Lessons in Teamwork
This dynamic pair of adventurers, writers, film-makers and outdoors-people have accomplished unbelievable feats. Together they rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in a voyage that took five months, unsupported, through 4 cyclones, to cross 10,000 km of unforgiving seas. They jointly received National Geographic’s 2007 Adventurer of the Year award and are best-selling authors who have collectively written five books published around the world. Their films have been aired on National Geographic Channel, CTV Travel and more. Talk about teamwork!
Ali Asaria: A culture of Innovation and Disruption
Ali asserts that we’ve become so lost in a culture of startups and venture capital, that we’ve forgotten the importance of real technological innovation and disruption. He will tackle whether disruption should be encouraged, given that it can be scary, and what does a culture of innovation and disruption look like? Why is it important to embrace disruption and why have we been looking in the wrong places to make it happen? Ali’s insights are based on his experiences as founder of Well.ca which is Canada’s largest online health, baby and beauty store. Prior to his startup accomplishment, he studied Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo and worked at Microsoft and RIM. Ali is also known for developing the game BrickBreaker during his own free time.
April Dunford: The Future of Marketing: What Startup Marketers can Teach Us
April is the co-founder and Managing Director of RocketScope, a hybrid marketing accelerator and analyst firm focused on marketing best practices and strategy. April has been an executive at five startups (Janna Systems, DataMirror, InfoBright, Sitraka and Watcom) where she was dedicated to sustainable growth. April is currently an Executive-in-Residence at Communitech and authors a popular startup marketing blog RocketWatcher. April will take Tech Leadership attendees through the changing playing field of marketing, where the best marketing is no longer de facto done by the biggest teams, and where marketing strategy, tactics and operations are key.
Mike McCauley: 0 to Google in 18 months: The BufferBox Story
Mike is co-founder of BufferBox, a network of automated package delivery lockers which allows consumers to ship parcels and online purchases directly to pick-up stations, solving the problem of failed deliveries by offering 24/7 pickup. This engineering undergrad project that started, where else – at the University of Waterloo – turned into a company, caught the attention of Silicon Valley, and was acquired by Google. Other startups can learn from the BufferBox experience which Mike will be sharing with the Tech Leadership Conference attendees.
The Tech Leadership Conference will be held March 7th at Bingeman’s Conference Centre, 425 Bingeman Centre Drive, Kitchener beginning at 8 a.m. with breakfast, registration and the opening of the Tech Expo, and closing at 4:40 p.m. following the program completion and reception.
