On October 13, 2010, Canada and China will celebrate their 40th year of diplomatic relations. Over the decades, the two countries have built a relationship based on respect and cooperation. The joint celebration will allow Canada and China to promote their mutual commercial awareness and increase business opportunities.

The 2010 Canada-China Innovation Partnership Forum supports by Canadian and Chinese governments in conjunction with celebration of Canada and China 40th year of diplomatic relations will be held on October 7-8, in Ottawa. This forum will bring together government decision makers, business leaders and leading thinkers from both countries to promote Canada-China mutual commercial awareness, build a relationship based on respect and cooperation, increase business opportunities, bridge business cultures and provide face-to-face connection channels.

For complete details please visit the Forum website at http://siwyc.com.

Date:
October 7-8, 2010

Location:
Hilton Lac-Leamy
3, Boulevard du Casino, Gatineau-Ottawa, Quebec

Cost:
OCRI Members: $775.00 (plus HST)
Non members: $975.00 (plus HST)
Table top displays: $299.00 (plus HST)

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellation requests must be received in writing no later than Wednesday September 22, 2010 (5:00 pm Eastern Time) to receive a refund. A $100 administration fee will be deducted from all refunds. Approved refunds will be processed after the conference. Refunds will not be processed for cancellation requests received after Wednesday September 22, 2010. However delegate substitution is welcome.

Registration:
http://onlineservices.ocri.ca/events/event.cfm?event=CHINA2010

SiGe Semiconductor, a progeny of the National Research Council that makes low-power chips for cell phones and other high-tech items, filed papers to sell US$143.75 million in shares on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

The public offering, if approved, would be one of the largest in Ottawa’s history. Mitel Networks, which raised $147.37 million in its offering on April 22, has the all-time top spot.

SiGe had plans to move on this years ago, but the recession of 2008-09 badly battered the company.

Revenues fell nearly 15 per cent to $82.6 million at the end of fiscal 2009, and it posted a loss of $4.4 million.

But the first quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended April 2, was more positive. SiGe posted a $144,000 profit and total revenue of $20.7 million.

Local, international honours

In 2009, the technology incubator Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) selected SiGe as the top technology company of the year.

It’s also been named in several top 50 and 500 lists put out by Deloitte, a well-known tracker of technology innovation.

SiGe had a 30 per cent market share in wireless LAN in 2008 as it stretched its radio-frequency products into gaming, handsets, GPS and personal computing.

During the past five years, it’s successfully raised tens of million dollars in financing to fund product development and expand its customer base.

“SiGe’s outstanding performance in the recent past has established them as a world leader in the design and supply of leading edge (radio-frequency) solutions,” stated Claude Haw, chief executive of OCRI, at the time his firm gave the award.

$7M in Ontario government support

Many of the 130 employees at SiGe work in Ottawa, but media reports say most of the company’s executive team now works out of their headquarters in Andover, Mass., near Boston.

SiGe recently received a $7 million grant from the Ontario government with the stipulation that in the next five years, SiGe keeps 43 jobs in Ontario and adds 21 new positions.

Created in Ottawa’s National Research Centre in the mid-1990s, SiGe continues to receive financial support from that institution; in one quarter of 2009, SiGe received a $1.5 million research grant from NRC.

SiGe’s key operating centres are in Ottawa and Hong Kong, and it also includes sales offices in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan as well as design centres in England and southern California.

Its top shareholders are Prism Venture Partners and W Capital Partners in the United States, and VenGrowth Asset Management and Toronto Dominion Investments in Canada.

Company chief executive Sohail Khan holds 5.6 per cent of SiGe’s shares.

LINK

Enjoy the scenic view and meet our new and existing OCRI members, in addition to representatives from the OCRI leadership team and membership committee at this summer’s networking breakfast. Claude Haw, President and CEO of OCRI, will provide a brief overview of the organization. Come out and find out how you can maximize your membership investment in OCRI while meeting new business contacts.

We encourage you to bring copies of a one page corporate brochure for the information table and talk to other members from the local business and technology communities. Find out what their organizations are doing and how they are ramping-up for a busy fall season.

Register Now | Register by Fax | Add to Outlook

Date:
Wednesday August 25, 2010

Time:
8:00 am – 8:30 am – Registration
8:30 am – 10:00 am – Networking Breakfast and New Member Presentations

Location:
Britannia Yacht Club
2777 Cassels Street
Ottawa, ON

Cost:
No charge. Pre-registration is required by 5:00 p.m. on Monday August 23, 2010.

To make a reservation, please contact:
Patricia Tippett
Conference Administrator
Phone: 613-828-6274 ext. 249
Fax: 613-726-3444
Email: ptippett@ocri.ca

Speaker

Janet LeBlanc
President
Janet LeBlanc + Associates [Customer Experience Design + Execution]

Keynote Summary

There are two realities in business that never change—all revenue comes from customers and businesses compete for customers. What’s changed is that today’s customers rule. They are more demanding and more vocal than ever before. Customers are cautious and knowledgeable about their choices and quicker to leave if unhappy. Most businesses at some point collect feedback from their customers. The challenge is how to capitalize on that feedback to create measurable business value for your organization.

It has long been proven that clearly understanding and acting on customer needs and expectations will influence how much business customers will do with you now and in the future. OCRI has partnered with Janet LeBlanc, an award winning authority in the area of customer value and experience management, to bring you proven strategies and tactics on how to use customer feedback to drive business growth.

Through a series of cases studies and discussions, this interactive program will provide executives with the tools to:

• understand how to align business strategy with customer needs;
• realize the financial benefits of responding to customer complaints;
• build a clear link between customer needs and internal processes; and
• drive a customer-centric culture throughout your organization.

You’ll take away the:

• five biggest changes in customer attitudes;
• top 10 attributes for a great customer experience;
• guiding principles for building a customer feedback system;
• expert advice on how customers define and measure customer value; and
• key ways to motivate employees to improve the customer experience.

Real life case studies demonstrating the concepts in action will be examined.

NOTE: This workshop is highly interactive. Space is limited to 15 participants.

Speaker’s Bio

Janet LeBlanc is internationally recognized for her expertise in customer value and experience management with award winning results in driving transformational change. As former director, Customer Value Management for a $7 billion enterprise, Janet has successfully led the integration of customer feedback into one of Canada’s most recognized brands, Canada Post. She was the executive responsible for deploying customer metrics into business planning, employee performance management, and process improvements. Prior to that, Janet was responsible to lead a major sales re-engineering effort including coaching development, performance management, rewards and recognition, and sales and service training.

Janet was the winner of a 2009 Stevie Award for Women in Business (Best Executive in a Government Sector) and her leadership won Canada Post four international awards—namely an International Business Award for Best Customer Service Organization, a 1to1 Impact Award for Organizational Transformation, a World Mail Award for Customer Service, and an Aberdeen Industry Achievement Award for Business Evolution.

A 20-year marketing veteran, Janet has covered sales, marketing, coaching development and enterprise-wide change management since starting her career. She previously served as director, Change Leadership and Sales Quality responsible for training and development and performance management and was the marketing director of the Coaching Association of Canada where she led the implementation of “Coaching Principles in Management” a training program for sales managers. Janet holds a Masters of Business Administration and was an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of Ottawa for over a decade. She is an accomplished writer including a Canadian best seller, available worldwide in three languages.

Date:
Thursday, September 16, 2010

Time:
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Workshop

Location:
Main Boardroom
OCRI
2625 Queensview Drive

Cost:
$295.00 – OCRI Members (plus 13% HST)
$395.00 – Non-members (plus 13% HST)

Become an OCRI Member today!

Cancellation Policy:
Only cancellations received in writing by fax/email two working days prior to the event date will be refunded, less 10%. Substitutions are permitted and notification prior to the event date is appreciated.

Register Online
Online registration must be made by credit card

Register by Fax | Add to your Outlook*
* Click on “Add to your Outlook”, select “Open”, choose “Save and Close”. Works in IE only.