CVCA Annual Conference coming up in Calgary May 27-29th – Pure VC&PE networking delight

03Mar09

It’s time to stop looking at the stock markets and start building successful VC funded companies! Think I’m joking? I think not. We have been so absorbed here at iNovia working on new deals, exchanging and collaborating with some of the most amazing entrepreneurs I’ve come across (2 new deals were announced earlier this year and 2 more to come shortly) that we didn’t have much time to further build our network within the VC community!

So I’m taking a few minutes to inform you that the main VC & PE networking event in Canada is coming up May 27-29th in Calgary. I’ve been either a member of the board of directors of the CVCA and/or on the Organization Committee for the last 6 years. And I cannot express how much energy and commitment the CVCA get’s from its members. And that, says allot about our VC&PE community strengths up here in Canada. The “hot off the press” CVCA Annual Conference agenda can be found below. With everything that is going on, you can’t afford to miss out on this pure networking delight. Check out the agenda, register and bring some energy!

More details visit www.cvca.ca

See you there!

Chris

REGISTER at: http://www.cvca.ca/news/events/CVCA_Annual_Conference_Registration.aspx

AGENDA

The conference will kick off with a welcome cocktail event on the Wednesday evening and include a Gala dinner on the Thursday featuring the CVCA’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award presentation followed by our popular scotch-tasting networking event. We will also offer attendees an optional golf day on Wednesday at one of Alberta’s premiere courses: The Links of GlenEagles in Cochrane. We have a Cyber Cafe throughout the conference sponsored by Enterprise Saskatchewan to further enhance networking opportunities. 

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Wednesday May 27, 2009
6:00 am – 2:00 pm	Golf Day – The Links of Glen Eagles, Cochrane, Alberta Bus Transfer to and from the Hyatt Regency, departs for the course at 6:00 am with estimated travel time 45 minutes to 1 hour. Tee-off at 7:45 am. Estimated return time to hotel is 2:00 pm.
3:00 – 7:00 pm	Conference Registration
5:00 – 7:00 pm	Welcome Cocktail Reception  Sponsored by Coller Capital Ltd.
Thursday May 28, 2009 7:00 am	Breakfast Buffet  Sponsored by Avrio Ventures Management
8:00 am	Welcoming Remarks
8:10 am	Session 1 – The Outlook for the Industry: Facing Head Winds The panelists will present the most recent data on the venture capital and private equity industry: performance, fund raising, and investment. They will touch upon structural and cyclical issues which are presently affecting the industry in Canada and globally and point to responses presently in the making to face our difficult times, but also benefit from the opportunities they present. Moderator: Dale Botting, CEO, Enterprise Saskatchewan Panelists:  Gilles Duruflé, Independent Consultant  Sacha Ghai, Partner, McKinsey & Company
9:10 am	Session 2 – Asset Allocation – Role of Private Markets Debate  The current volatility across all investment classes has created unique challenges for pension funds around the globe and current asset allocation theories are being put to the test. The objective of this session will be to discuss the role of Private Markets in the overall investment portfolio of leading pension funds in Canada and the US . The session is also intended to address questions such as “Does the traditional asset allocation model work or a more opportunity based approach is needed”? Moderator: Stephen Hurwitz, Partner , Choate Hall & Stewart LLP Panelists:  Leo de Bever, Chief Executive Officer, Alberta Investment Management Corp.  Michael Norbrega, President and CEO, OMERS  Clinton P. Harris, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Grove Street Advisors LLC
10:10 am	Session 3 – Giving Back – Canary Foundation A 25-year veteran of the technology industry – Don Listwin was CEO of Sana Security, Openwave and had been the #2 executive at Cisco Systems. In 2004 Listwin walked away from his high profile technology career and launched Canary Foundation in order to dramatically accelerate early cancer detection research activities. http://www.canaryfoundation.org Don Listwin, Founder & Chairman, Canary Foundation
10:40 am	Coffee / Networking Break
11:00 am	Session 4 – State of the Union – what the future holds for PE from a global perspective Given the phenomenal growth in PE in the last decade, have we reached the end of the road for PE investing or will the PE asset class withstand the current storm and come out of it even stronger? Hear three of the most influential and well respected PE fund managers address the role of their firm in relation to the current global financial situation and what the future holds for the PE market in general. Moderated by one of Canada ‘s most respected PE investors, Mark Wiseman Head of Private Equity at CPP, this panel brings together a world class perspective with unique Canadian ties. Moderator: Mark Wiseman, Senior Vice President, Private Investments, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Panelists:  Michael Phillips, CEO Germany, Apax Partners Beteiligungsberatung GmbH  Seth M. Mersky, Managing Director, ONEX Corporation  Anthony J. (Tony), Dinovi, Co-President, Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
noon	Keynote Speaker
12:30	Lunch  Sponsored by Deloitte
2:00 pm	Concurrent Session 5A – VC – A Global Perspective Venture capital firms are facing unique challenges as they confront the global economic downturn. While leading global VC firms such as Accel and NEA have managed to raise billions of dollars of fresh capital over the past 6 months, the fundraising environment for many VC firms and their portfolio companies is challenging. A panel of global VC players discusses what the economic downturn means for venture capital investing, how they are adapting, where they see opportunities, and why VC firms that invest across geographies have a competitive advantage. Could 2009 be an exceptional vintage year for venture? Moderator: Robert Antoniades, Managing Director, RBC Venture Partners Panelists:  Yoram Oron, Founder and Managing Partner, Vertex Venture Capital Chua Kee Lock, President & CEO of VVH  Bill Bryant, Venture Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson  Jennifer Brooy , Vice President and Head of Equity, Export Development Corporation
2:00 pm	Concurrent Session 5B – PE – Current update on Debt Markets. Come hear from the leading financial institutions that actively provide senior and junior debt to the Private Equity community in support of new acquisitions and portfolio company re-financings. Very timely market cases will be discussed to flush out current pricing, leverage, terms and conditions available in today’s highly volatile business environment. Moderator: Michael Badham, Partner, Financial Advisory Corporate Finance, Deloitte & Touche LLP Panelists:  Bill Addington, Executive Vice President. Canadian Western Bank  Blair Cowan, Team Leader, Leveraged Finance, CIBC Commercial Banking  Richard Kinlough, Managing Director and Group Head, CIT Corporate Finance , Canada  Dan Howat, Senior Vice President, JPMorganChase  Vipon Ghai, Managing Director, Private Equity & Mezzanine, Manulife Financial  Glen Gibson, Head of Credit Origination Investment Banking, TD Securities
3:15 pm	Coffee / Networking Break
3:45 pm	Concurrent Session 6A – VC Fund raising environment – the future that lies ahead 2009 and 2010 is expected to be the most significant fundraising period for Canadian VCs in the last decade as a number of funds have announced their intention to raise their next fund in this period. How do LPs see the environment and are their objectives aligned with the GPs looking to raise their next fund? In this session, the panelists will outline the opportunities and challenges they are currently facing in the current fundraising environment. Moderator: Daniel Dupont, Partner, Coller Capital Ltd. Panelists:  Ian Carew, Vice President, TD Capital Private Equity Investors  Jacques Bernier, Senior Vice President – TI, Telecom and Ind. Innovations, Fonds de solidarité (FTQ)  Pat DiPietro, Managing General Partner, VenGrowth Private Equity Partners Inc.  Beniot Hogue, Managing Partner, Propulsion Ventures Inc.  Stephen Hnatiuk, General Partner, Yaletown Venture Partners
3:45 pm	Session 6B PE – Current State of the Canadian M&A Market – Where Will Private Equity Play the Largest Role in 2009? With the current economic crisis eliminating financing options, reducing public valuations to levels not seen for years and eroding business confidence Canadian M&A activity has slowed dramatically. Please join our panel of seasoned dealmakers as we explore the role of private equity in 2009 in relation to the M&A markets. Where will the best opportunities lie for private equity funds? Will privatizations present opportunities for funds and how will these deals get financed? What outlook should private equity funds expect in terms of exits, both in the public markets and privately? Moderator :W. Ian Palm, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Panelists:  Andrew Federer, Managing Director and Head of Canadian Financial Sponsor Coverage, RBC Capital Markets  John Sherrington, Vice Chairman, Global Head – Private Equity Coverage, Scotia Capital Inc.  Tony Ianni, President, Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc.  Trevor Gough, Managing Director & Head of Investment Banking, CIBC Mid-Market Investment Banking  Dirk Leasure, Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets
6:30 pm	Gala Cocktail Reception  Sponsored by HKMB HUB International and Chubb Insurance
7:30 pm	Gala Dinner Sponsored by RBC Royal Bank of Canada CVCA’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ presentation
9:30 pm	Scotch-Tasting  Sponsored by Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP

Posted via email from Chris’s posterous

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