Fall 2009 Toronto Chapter Newsletter - FEI Canada
Fall 2009 Toronto Chapter Newsletter - FEI Canada
Fall 2009 Toronto Chapter Newsletter - FEI Canada
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
financial executives international<br />
toronto<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE<br />
CONTENTS<br />
(click to navigate)<br />
President’s Corner<br />
I am honoured to serve as the President of the <strong>FEI</strong><br />
President’s Corner<br />
Program<br />
Pg 1<br />
Pg 2<br />
<strong>Canada</strong>, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> for the <strong>2009</strong>/2010 year. I<br />
have been a member of the <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> since<br />
relocating from Seattle in 2003 and have played<br />
an active role on the Membership Committee<br />
RSVP Policy<br />
Pg 3<br />
and on the Board of Directors. My membership<br />
Career Services<br />
Pg 3<br />
in <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> has been instrumental in helping<br />
me develop my network of professional contacts<br />
Membership News<br />
Pg 4<br />
in <strong>Toronto</strong> and across <strong>Canada</strong>. I have developed<br />
4th Annual Best in Class Pg 5<br />
valuable relationships through my membership<br />
and continue to benefit from my active participation<br />
Financials Pg 6<br />
in <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>. If you are a new member or a<br />
Board of Directors Pg 7<br />
Kay Brekken<br />
member who hasn’t attended very many events,<br />
I would encourage you to participate in as many<br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> Sponsors Pg 7<br />
events as possible to maximize the value of your<br />
membership. We have an exceptional schedule<br />
of events planned for this year including lunch and dinner meetings, Career Services meetings, social events, a<br />
golf tournament, an MBA case competition, National breakfast meetings and a number of conferences including the<br />
National conference which will take place in Victoria in June of 2010. You will see additional details on our <strong>Chapter</strong><br />
events throughout this newsletter.<br />
From the time I joined <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> in 2003, I have seen significant growth in our <strong>Chapter</strong> and in what our <strong>Chapter</strong><br />
offers to its members for a very reasonable annual fee. However, last year, for the first time in several years,<br />
membership in our <strong>Chapter</strong> declined due to the difficult economic times. This has made member retention and<br />
member recruitment a top priority for the current year for all of the <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong>s across <strong>Canada</strong>. It is<br />
important that we all work together to ensure that our existing members renew their memberships and that we<br />
encourage our colleagues and friends to join <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>. This will allow us to continue to offer all of the programs<br />
that are currently in place and be able to fund new initiatives. One of our additional goals for this year is to bring<br />
better attention to what we refer to as “Value for Your Membership”. You will note additional information is now<br />
available on our website at http://www.feicanada.org/join/cpd_center.html which identifies all the ways you can earn<br />
Continuing Professional Development credits through attending <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> events.<br />
I am excited about the upcoming year and would like to thank all of the volunteers that make our <strong>Chapter</strong> a reality<br />
through countless hours of volunteer time. I would also like to thank Liz Bowell who is our <strong>Chapter</strong> Administrator<br />
for all that she does to ensure things run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. If you have an interest in becoming more<br />
involved in our <strong>Chapter</strong>, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our board or committee members. We are<br />
constantly seeking ways to improve our offerings so feel free to reach out to any one of us with your suggestions.<br />
We look forward to an exciting year and seeing you at an upcoming event!<br />
Kay Brekken<br />
kbrekken@indigo.ca<br />
416-646-8945<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
Program<br />
by Patrick Doig, Chair, Program Committee<br />
The Program Committee is responsible for providing educational content to the <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong><br />
membership, mainly through scheduling speakers for our monthly lunch/dinner meetings.<br />
<strong>2009</strong>-2010 Program<br />
Dinner and lunch events for the fall of <strong>2009</strong> have now been confirmed. Thanks to the program committee members and<br />
our chapter administrator Liz Bowell for arranging these events. Our first event, held on September 21 at the National<br />
Club, was very successful and included a presentation Discovering a Golden Touch in Turbulent Times from <strong>Canada</strong>’s<br />
CFO of the Year for <strong>2009</strong>, David Garofalo, Senior Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Agnico-Eagle<br />
Mines Limited.<br />
In addition to the events sponsored by <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>, the <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong>’s plans for the fall and winter program are well<br />
underway. See the Career Services section for additional events. For the fall of <strong>2009</strong>, we will be presenting the following<br />
events:<br />
October 14, <strong>2009</strong> – Dinner meeting at The National Club. Speaker Bernie Wilson, former Vice Chairman,<br />
PricewaterhouseCoopers, CFOs and Audit Committees...friends, foes or...something in between?<br />
December 8, <strong>2009</strong> – 2010 Economic Outlook lunch meeting at Le Meridien King Edward presented by Dr. Sherry<br />
Cooper, Executive Vice-President, Global Economic Strategist, BMO Financial Group; Chief Economist, BMO Capital<br />
Markets<br />
Other potential topics we are pursuing for the remainder of the program year include: Artificial Intelligence and the future<br />
of computing; Deloitte’s 50 Best program and leading in adversity.<br />
Other Upcoming <strong>Chapter</strong> Events:<br />
October 22, <strong>2009</strong> - 2nd Annual SME Conference - Growing Your SME in a Changing Economy, Mississauga Convention<br />
Centre<br />
November 20 & 21, <strong>2009</strong> – 4th Annual Best in Class Invitational Case Competition, Ted Rogers School of Management<br />
November 24, <strong>2009</strong> – 15th Annual November Social Evening, Wines of Prince Edward County, Vaughan Estate, The<br />
Estates of Sunnybrook<br />
Committee Members<br />
All of the <strong>Chapter</strong> committees are run by member volunteers – it is a great way to make new contacts and to get the most<br />
from your membership. The Program Committee welcomes new volunteers to the committee or ideas you might have<br />
about speakers and topics. Please contact us if you would like to help out. Current committee members are as follows:<br />
Patrick Doig, Chair patrick.doig@marsh.com<br />
Jonathan Brindley, Vice Chair<br />
Cliff Truax, Vice Chair<br />
Ron Duke<br />
Greg Guyatt<br />
Nikhil Sathe<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> RSVP Policy<br />
The <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> encourages <strong>Chapter</strong> members to take advantage of all the benefits and privileges that come with <strong>FEI</strong><br />
<strong>Canada</strong> membership, especially the numerous no or low-cost professional development events offered throughout the year.<br />
From September through May, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> holds approximately eight lunch or dinner events and six career services<br />
workshops, all of which are free for any <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> member to attend.<br />
We simply ask that if you RSVP to attend one of these excellent meetings that you keep us informed should you no longer<br />
wish to attend. We are required to report numbers for food and seating arrangements to our venue in advance, and pay for<br />
food based on this guarantee number. In order for us to keep costs down and continue to offer a high level of programming,<br />
we require your cooperation and assistance in accurately managing and reporting our attendance numbers.<br />
Career Services<br />
<strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong>’s Career Committee is open to being contacted by any member wanting to network or in<br />
transition or thinking of making a change. In addition to organizing and presenting the career workshops, our committee<br />
believes “in transition” to really mean “between successes”.<br />
For <strong>2009</strong>/2010 we are focusing our presentations this fall to be of most help to those in transition. We will set the theme<br />
for the Spring 2010 program based on the strength of the job market, and the interests of our members.<br />
Members of the <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> Career Ser vices Committee<br />
Chair – Leslie N. Markow, CA, CPA (Illinois) – Director and Audit Committee Chair, Jemtec Inc; Director of Client Service<br />
- Resources Global Professionals 416 682-3372<br />
leslie.markow@hotmail.com<br />
Vice Chair – George Chiarucci, CA – former CFO, Atlantis Systems Inc. - in transition 647-282-5536<br />
gchiarucci@cogeco.ca<br />
David Farmer. MBA – VP & Underwriter Corporate Finance Loan Syndications, BMO 416 643-4216<br />
david.farmer@bmo.com<br />
David Minas, CA – former CFO of a public company currently in transition<br />
dminas@sympatico.ca<br />
Kriss Bush, CPA, CFP – Assistant Branch Manager – RBC Dominion Securities Inc. 905-277-6013<br />
Kriss_Bush@rbc.com<br />
Alysia Carter, CA, CMA – CFO, Ainsworth Inc. 416 750-6811<br />
alysia_carter@ainsworth.com<br />
New member - Michael Busuttil, MBA, CFA, CMA – former Global Finance and Operations VP in transition<br />
mbusuttil@rogers.com<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
Career Services (continued from page 3)<br />
Agenda August <strong>2009</strong> – June 2010<br />
A special session was held on August 11, <strong>2009</strong> – Networking from the Trenches/Effective Information Meetings -<br />
hosted by Deb Barrett - The Woodbridge Company Limited and Ramona Dzinkowski - <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong><br />
September 15 – Interview Skills – Presented by Gord Orlikow, Korn Ferry and Day Merrill, KWA Partners<br />
hosted by David Minas<br />
Wednesday October 7 – Intensive Networking hosted by Michael Busuttil supported by Leslie Markow<br />
Tuesday November 10 – Recruiters Panel – hear from a panel of 3-5 senior Executive Recruiters -<br />
hosted by George Chiarucci<br />
Tuesday February 9 – TBA hosted by David Farmer<br />
Tuesday March 9 – TBA hosted by. Alysia Carter<br />
Monday April 26 – TBA hosted by Kriss Bush<br />
Membership News - September <strong>2009</strong><br />
By Kurt Kroesen, Membership Committee Member<br />
The Committee met in June <strong>2009</strong> to discuss approaches to increasing membership in the <strong>Chapter</strong> over the next year. It<br />
set a target of increasing membership by +10 members or +1.5% despite declining membership over the last fiscal year<br />
(683 members at June 30, <strong>2009</strong> versus 719 at July 1, 2008).<br />
The <strong>Chapter</strong> started the year on July 1, <strong>2009</strong> at 683 members. At the end of August membership was down by 16, or<br />
-2.3% to 667. Despite 5 new members, the resignations of 13 members combined with the non-payment of eight<br />
members and a few transfers in and out, resulted in the net reduction.<br />
The Committee has a number of ideas by which it hopes to increase membership, including a fall membership drive<br />
campaign, with the opportunity to win $1,000 cash prize for referral of qualified prospects to <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>. Our first<br />
Membership Networking Reception will be on October 29 at Stratus Lounge! Please join us and bring your qualified<br />
prospect member for a chance to win the $1,000 cash prize! Stay tuned for more information on this exciting initiative.<br />
Also, a CFO celebrity email campaign is planned and will target TSX300 prospect members.<br />
In an effort to improve retention, Committee members will be calling those who have not paid and those who have<br />
resigned in an effort to obtain constructive feedback and encourage them to reinstate their membership by reviewing<br />
the many benefits of being an <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> member, including the ease of attaining required professional development<br />
credits.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
Membership News Update (continued from page 4)<br />
Although the Committee recognizes the challenges presented by the recent recession and the impact it has likely had on<br />
membership, it is hopeful that, with the efforts it has underway and the improving economy, the trend can be reversed and<br />
the target achieved.<br />
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS<br />
We are pleased to welcome the following new members who have joined during July and August of <strong>2009</strong>:<br />
•<br />
•<br />
•<br />
•<br />
•<br />
Mr. Bobby Kwon, Chief Financial Officer, Unilever <strong>Canada</strong><br />
Mr. Gerard J. Buckley, Managing Director, Jaguar Capital Inc.<br />
Mr. Timothy Deacon, Vice President, International Accounting & Policy, Manulife Financial<br />
Mrs. Flori Garcia, Controller, The Bedford Consulting Group<br />
Mr. Kevin Gilbride, Corporate Controller, Redline Communications Inc.<br />
and the following member who has transferred in from another chapter:<br />
•<br />
Mr. Arvind Dhar, Assistant Vice President & Manager, HSBC Bank <strong>Canada</strong><br />
4th Annual Best in Class<br />
<strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> Announces 4th Annual Best in Class Invitational Case Competition<br />
It is with great pleasure that the <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> of the Financial Executives International <strong>Canada</strong>, North America’s leading<br />
business organization, announces the 4th Annual Best in Class Invitational Case Competition to be held on November 20-21,<br />
<strong>2009</strong> at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University. <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong>, with the generous support<br />
of its sponsors, is very proud to be supporting business education in <strong>Canada</strong> with this unique case competition. The case is<br />
based on an existing public company with company executives in attendance and presented to a live audience.<br />
Now in its fourth year, invitations to the Best in Class competition were extended to 10 of the top ranking MBA schools across<br />
the country: University of Alberta School of Business, DeGroote School of Business, Desautels Faculty of Management,<br />
Haskayne School of Business, Richard Ivey School of Business, Rotman School of Management, Sauder School of<br />
Business, Sobey School of Business, Sprott School of Business and the Ted Rogers School of Management.<br />
The competition will be fierce as teams from each of the participating MBA schools vie for the $10,000 first place prize and an<br />
invitation to attend the <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> Annual Conference in Victoria in June 2010. Business leaders selected by <strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong><br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> will form the esteemed panel of judges for the event.<br />
The competition will end with a Reception and Awards Dinner at Hart House, University of <strong>Toronto</strong>. Individual tickets ($85 per<br />
person) or corporate tables (Tables of 8- $600) for the evening Reception and Awards Dinner are available for purchase by<br />
<strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> members, event sponsors, participating MBA schools and their alumni.<br />
There is no charge or pre-registration required to attend the competition during the day. Everyone is welcome and<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
Best in Class (continued from page 5)<br />
encouraged to come and support Best in Class and the student participants at this stimulating event.<br />
Please join us for some or all of the activities on Saturday, November 21, <strong>2009</strong> and be inspired by <strong>Canada</strong>’s best and<br />
brightest MBA students!<br />
Saturday, November 21, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Team Presentations:<br />
Time: Semi Finals 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.<br />
Finals – 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.<br />
Location:<br />
Auditorium, 7th Floor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University<br />
575 Bay Street, <strong>Toronto</strong> (enter on south side of Dundas Street West)<br />
Cost:<br />
No charge<br />
Reception & Awards Dinner :<br />
Time: 6:00 – 9:30 p.m.<br />
Location:<br />
Great Hall, Hart House, University of <strong>Toronto</strong>, 7 Hart House Circle<br />
Cost: $85 per person or $600 for a table of 8<br />
Advance registration is required for the Reception & Awards dinner only. For further information please contact Liz Bowell by<br />
email at lb@passport.ca or by telephone at (905) 936-5422<br />
Financials<br />
<strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> Financial Statements for the Year Ended June 30, <strong>2009</strong> are available on our website at<br />
http://www.feicanada.org/chapters/toronto/toronto_downloads.html.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
( )<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter<br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> <strong>2009</strong>/2010<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Executive Committee<br />
Kay Brekken<br />
Fred Burke<br />
George Chiarucci<br />
Naresh Khosla<br />
Steve Rosen<br />
Jonathan Brindley<br />
Ron Duke<br />
Leah Halpenny<br />
Atul Mahajan<br />
Leslie Markow<br />
Judy Munro<br />
Brian McAskill<br />
William Ross<br />
Farhad Sethna<br />
Cliff Truax<br />
Russ Wong<br />
President, kbrekken@indigo.ca<br />
Vice President, fburke1@rogers.com<br />
Vice President, gchiarucci@cogeco.ca<br />
Secretary &Treasurer, khoslan@rogers.com<br />
Past President & Chair – Communications Committee, steve.rosen.180@gmail.com<br />
Vice Chair – Program Committee, Jonathan.Brindley@rci.rogers.com<br />
Program Committee, ron.duke@lavalife.com<br />
Vice Chair – Membership Committee, lhalpenny@execurisk.com<br />
Membership Committee, amahajan@opuc.on.ca<br />
Chair – Career Services Committee, leslie.markow@resources-ca.com<br />
Chair – Academic & Social Committees, judy.munro@rogers.com<br />
Co-Chair – Sponsorship Committee, brian.j.mcaskill@marsh.com<br />
Chair – Technical & CFERF Committee, bill.ross@enbridge.com<br />
Co-Chair – Sponsorship Committee, fsethna@shepherdvillage.org<br />
Vice Chair – Program Committee, c.truax@HydroOne.com<br />
Membership Committee, Russ.Wong10@Rotman.Utoronto.Ca<br />
Liz Bowell<br />
<strong>Chapter</strong> Administrator, lb@passport.ca<br />
<strong>FEI</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>, <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>Chapter</strong> Sponsors<br />
Diners Club<br />
International<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> ISSUE financial executives international toronto chapter newsletter
Change language