FEI Canada Xpress
President's Corner
Special Montreal Conference Edition
Wow! That is how one of the Montreal Conference attendees simply summed up FEI Canada’s 2009 event.
From the exciting opening at Cirque de Soleil’s new show Ovo, to the wide array of excellent speakers, Conference Chair Louis Marcotte and his committee of dedicated volunteers did not disappoint.
Strong Program of Speakers
For many, including a record number of journalists covering our conference, the highlight was the appearance of Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne, who arrived directly from his meetings with the German Chancellor and Detroit officials, which were aimed at restructuring the auto sector globally.
This Italian-Canadian’s address was as memorable as the Maserati in which he arrived, providing his views on the causes of and solutions for the current economic crisis and the problems of the auto sector, as well as an inspiring lesson on business ethics. I urge you to “tune in” to Sergio’s discourse on CFO TV, for which he received a standing ovation from the audience of more than 400:
"The real challenge of our time is to create the conditions for virtuous change.
The financial crisis has put values fundamental to any organization to the test:
transparency, honesty, reliability."
- Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer - Fiat SpA e Fiat Group
Our other inspiring keynote speakers, whose presentations have also been posted on CFO TV, are shown below (clockwise, starting from top left):
- Canada’s CFO of the Year for 2008 Bruce Waterman pondered how to surf the financial tidal wave in today’s dangerous waters;
- Hal Kvisle, TransCanada’s President and the Outstanding CEO for 2008, traced TransCanada’s history and vision;
- Cirque de Soleil CFO Robert Blain and VP Gaetan Morency discussed Cirque founder Guy Laliberte’s concept of global citizenship.
In keeping with our conference theme of “Flying High in Turbulent Times”, our two final keynotes were aviation-sector CEOs (pictured below, from left to right):
- Porter Airlines Founder Bob Deluce explained the origins and strategy of Canada’s newest airline.
- Bob was then followed by Porter’s biggest supplier, Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin, who advised on how to fuel industrial clusters and regional growth.
Enjoyable Social Program
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, here are four photos that depict the fun and the networking that took place at our golf day and the excellent gala tour of Quebec gastronomy:
- Danley Yip getting carried away at golf by Norm Ferguson, Brita Chell and Brad Bardua;
- The Grand entrance into FEI Canada's Conference Gala;
- Michael Conway with Brint Ryan and Yves Gauthier, representatives of Gala sponsors Ryan Tax Services and Desjardins;
- Incoming and outgoing Calgary Chapter Presidents Nola Heale and James Saretsky share a laugh.
If you want to see more photos from our roving conference photographer, please click here.
Congratulations to all those involved in putting on a wonderful conference. For those of you who missed it, I can only suggest two things; check out the highlights on CFO TV and sign up early for next year’s conference at the Fairmont Empress Hotel and Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria on June 9 - 11, 2010!
Sincerely yours,
Michael Conway
Chief Executive and National President
Financial Executives International Canada
Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation
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FEI Canada News
Capon Award Winners Harry Schaefer and King Allaster Honoured at Montreal Conference
Grant Ring thanked for contribution as 2008-09 FEI Canada Chair
Private Company Committee introduces Private Company Resource Page on FEI Canada website
The Private Company Committee (PCC) of FEI Canada, a collaboration of both our Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) and our Issues and Policies Committee (IPAC), has created a special resource page dedicated to Private Company information.
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FEI Canada Upcoming Events
June National Breakfast Seminar Series: Private Company GAAP in Canada – Understanding the Proposed Framework
The proposed new accounting standards for Canada's private companies will be available for comment in late spring, 2009. The final standards may be available for adoption as early as fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2009. Register now!
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Other Upcoming Events
CA Magazine Series Webinar: What will private enterprise GAAP mean for you or your company?
Private enterprise GAAP in Canada is about to change. Join CA Magazine for an informative webinar that will provide a detailed overview of the proposed new set of standards. Find out what the new standards are all about, how they differ from existing standards and how you can participate in the standard-setting process and share your ideas and feedback on this issue.
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Membership Services
New Member Welcome
A warm welcome to the 18 new or reinstated members who joined in May! Our thanks to all the members who have recommended their colleagues and friends.
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Members in the News
Howard Johnson, a Past President of our Southern Golden Horseshoe Chapter has published the book: The Acquisition Value Cycle™, which is his fourth book. For information on the 25% discount that Howard has offered all FEI Canada members until July 31, 2009, please click here.
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CFO TV
Check out the latest webcasts on CFO TV, including the presentations from FEI Canada's Annual Conference in Montreal.
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Job Bank
Hot Jobs
Check out our most recent job postings. If you are a member of FEI Canada, click here to sign in to our website and see all our current job postings.
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