2006 Highlights

Phil Sorgen

President, Microsoft Canada

Phil Sorgen joined Microsoft Canada in January 2006 as President. He has been with Microsoft Corp. since 1996, most recently in the position of General Manager of the US Enterprise Sales Operations Team where he was responsible for managing the alignment, synergy, and integration of the Enterprise Sales, Enterprise Partner, Inside Sales, Commercial Licensing, and Industry organizations. He was also a member of the US Leadership Team responsible for sales, marketing, services and industry strategy across the US Enterprise Business.

Prior to this role, Phil was the General Manager for the Gulf Coast District and was responsible for building the strategies and executing the plans for sales, consulting, channel development and marketing for South Texas and Louisiana. Under his leadership, the district drove more than $230 million in annual revenue and was one of the fastest growing districts in the United States. Sorgen also created and led the worldwide Microsoft Oil and Gas Vertical where he oversaw business strategies, including identifying key priorities and working with Microsoft partners to provide solutions for oil and gas manufacturing customers.

During his 10 years at Microsoft, Mr. Sorgen has enjoyed interacting between the customer, partner, and product groups. Mr. Sorgen is driven by a passion for innovation and the positive impact that technology can have upon an organization’s competitiveness in the global economy. Throughout his career, Mr. Sorgen has been a strong proponent of the partner and channel community, recognizing their contributions and expertise in driving innovation forward. His enthusiasm for the potential of technology is evident as he actively engages with customers and partners across the country, as well as the product development groups at Microsoft.

Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Sorgen served as a national account manager with NCR/AT&T GIS, managing and selling to large enterprise customers in the retail industry.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree as well as his Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of North Texas.

Paul McLaughlin

Writer and Broadcaster

Paul McLaughlin has been a freelance writer and broadcaster and journalism instructor for most of his career. He has worked as a producer and interviewer for CBC Radio and has written for most major Canadian magazines. One of Canada’s leading experts on interviewing, he is the author of the widely used text, Asking Questions: The Art of the Media Interview (also published as How To Interview), and is an interviewing trainer for CBC radio and TV. Paul has taught journalism part-time at Algonquin College, Carleton University, Ryerson University and York University, including courses on interviewing, magazine writing, radio production and documentary making, and journalism ethics. The author of several books, Paul is also an award-winning playwright, and has had his plays produced on stage and on CBC Radio. In addition Paul has worked as a consultant for Canada’s leading forensic accounting firm, and is the editor of the bi-monthly publication, Report On Fraud.

Zayna Mosam

Founder, Zayna Mosam Image Consulting

Zayna’s professional approach includes the design, implementation and evaluation of personalized strategies that ensure success. Her skill and enthusiasm make consultations and workshops informative, effective and entertaining. Zayna practices a holistic form of image consulting that emphasizes both mind and body. Clients enjoy the opportunity to combine outer transformation with personal development.

Zayna Mosam Image Consulting is a successful Toronto based practice with clientele in Canada, the United States and various countries overseas. Services involve image and lifestyle management, communications coaching, etiquette and protocol, personal shopping, personal branding and styling, and public image development. Clients include those in industries such as finance, technology, communications, education, athletics, and entertainment.

Zayna was named the image industry’s “Rising Star” of 2004 by the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI), and has become one of the youngest worldwide to achieve Certified Image Professional (CIP) status as a result of her professional achievements and reputation.

Andrew Pyle

Vice President, Head of Capital Markets Research, Scotiabank Group

Andrew is head of Capital Markets Research (CMR) for Scotia Economics. He provides support and strategy recommendations to internal trading and sales staff and is a member of the Equity Strategy Committee. In addition to his internal advisory role, Andrew provides analytical and research support to domestic and international clients from the Equity, Fixed Income, and Foreign Exchange markets. Andrew’s research and analysis of global capital markets is published in the “Weekly Capital Strategy” report, as well as in the daily, weekly and quarterly editions of the Equity group’s EDGE reports. In addition, Andrew provides dedicated economic advisory support to Scotia Capital’s retail arm and clients.

Andrew joined the Scotiabank Group in 2000 from ABN AMRO, where he was Chief Strategist. Prior to that, Andrew co-founded the market analytics firm PATH International and was chief Canadian Economist for MMS International.

Andrew, whose experience includes 18 years of covering global economic and financial market trends, provides insight into capital market and economic developments. Andrew is quoted regularly by the media and is a guest host with the Report on Business television show “Squeeze Play”.

Mike Welling

President, Mike Welling & Associates Strategic Brand Advisors

Currently President of Mike Welling & Associates Strategic Brand Advisors, Mike is a veteran of 22 years in the dog-eat-dog world of consumer packaged goods, principally with Unilever, Mike has earned a reputation as an effective business-builder, leader, celebrated marketer and change-agent. He is also a passionate believer in the power of effective branding.

During his 18 year career with Unilever working in Canada, Europe and as a member of several global, North American and European regional teams, Mike assumed senior corporate leadership roles within marketing and the supply chain inside Unilever, most recently as Vice-President, Brand Development for Unilever Canada’s $650+M foods portfolio. In addition, Mike has served on numerous industry boards & committees including roles as Vice-Chair of the Association of Canadian Advertisers and Board member of both Advertising Standards Canada and BBM Canada, the Bureau for Broadcast Measurement.

While at Unilever, his outstanding business-building leadership on such venerable brands such as Becel, Dove, Sunlight, Knorr, Vim and Lipton not only delivered strong profitable growth but also numerous awards for creative brand communication and effectiveness and a reputation within the agency community as an outstanding client.

Since leaving the corporate world in 2004 Mike has been leveraging his brand & business-building skills to the benefit of numerous brand communication agencies and businesses across many industries ranging from pharmaceuticals & consumer products & services to the and business-to-business sector and is regularly asked to be a contributor to industry publications and activities.

Andrew Kwong

Partner, Enterprise Risk, Deloitte & Touche LLP

CAndrew Kwong is Partner in Deloitte’s Enterprise Risk practice in Toronto. He has over ten years of audit/consulting experience in providing risk identification and assessment, control design and implementation of new business processes and related systems. Andrew also has over seven years of business process control and application security implementation experience. More recently, Andrew has focused on assisting both consulting and audit clients with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Canadian Securities Administrators – CEO/CFO Certification. In addition, he currently works on providing IT audit support for attest clients in the consumer business and energy (mining) sectors.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University and a MBA from the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. In addition, Andrew is a Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

David Lucatch

Founder & President, Savers Plus Canada Inc.

A veteran of traditional marketing and the eBusiness industry, David Lucatch’s background includes over 20 years of domestic and international business experience. Mr. Lucatch began his entrepreneurial career in university where he established a successful printing brokerage firm. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Commerce and Economics in 1985, Mr. Lucatch established Magnum Fine Commercial Printing Limited, a continuing, highly successful, ongoing business. In 1995, Mr. Lucatch, became an early pioneer in the Canadian eCommerce arena, with the creation of Valu-net International Ltd., taking the company from a start up fledgling to a prominent position in the Canadian Junior Public Company and eBusiness landscape. In 2000, Mr. Lucatch left Valu-net to work with companies wishing to establish one to one marketing programs.

In 2000, in partnership, Mr. Lucatch established Enhanced Customer Acquisition Systems Inc. a company that developed marketing, awareness and revenue generation programs for non-profit entities. From 2001 to 2003, ECA provided over $6 Million in revenue to non-profit companies. Working with a global partner, in 2002 ECA has established a marketing presence in The United States, Japan, Australia and Portugal. At its peak, over 2 million consumers per month were introduced to ECA marketing programs. In late 2003, ECA’s distribution partners chose to divest from the non profit sector to pursue alternative business programs, and Mr. Lucatch chose to stay in the industry and form Savers Plus.

Savers Plus has quickly developed a reputation for delivering unique marketing initiatives that provide clients with highly responsive marketing results. Savers Plus and its divisions focus on developing technology and marketing programs that strengthen the relationship between Savers Plus clients and their customers. Savers Plus develops program in the broadband, wireless and conventional arenas and these program focus on building client brand, loyalty and revenue.

In June 2006, Savers Plus International Inc. became a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Venture division, under the symbol “SAV”.

Mr. Lucatch continues to support the community. In addition to his business achievements, he has been recognized by several charities with various awards for his dedication to service. In 2002, Mr. Lucatch received the Award of Distinction from Reach for the Rainbow, an Ontario children’s charity. In 2004, Mr. Lucatch was awarded the 40th Anniversary Alumni Award from the University of Toronto at Scarborough. Mr. Lucatch was one of 25 graduates selected to receive this prestigious award from among the 25,000 that have graduated from the college since 1964. Additionally, Mr. Lucatch is a UTSC Student Mentor with the Management Apprentice Program (MAP). In 2005, Mr. Lucatch was selected as a delegate from the University of Toronto to participate in the Rae Commission round table discussions on the future of education in the Province of Ontario.

Som Seif

Chief Executive Officer & Director, Claymore Investments

Prior to joining Claymore, Som was an investment banker with RBC Capital Markets, where he worked since 1999. Som played a key role in developing the structured products group at RBC Capital Markets in both Canada and the U.S., where he structured and raised capital for both Canadian and U.S. asset managers. Som is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has a Bachelor of Applied Science with an emphasis on Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Martin Traub-Werner

Vice-President, Raybec Communications

Martin is a strong relationship builder driven by a passion for elegant solutions to business problems. He spent a decade working in Fortune 500 organizations consulting to Sales, Service, and Operations leaders. He has experience in Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Financial Services. Martin is fluent in Spanish and has worked across North America, including Mexico. He has a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resources from Cornell University and an Honours B.A. in Economics and Spanish from York University. Martin is active with the American Marketing Association’s Toronto Chapter – he currently serves as the chapter’s President-Elect for 2006/2007.

Peter Yien

Partner, Control Assurance, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Peter Yien is a Partner in Deloitte’s Control Assurance (’CA’) Practice in Toronto responsible for the global technology controls signoff for RBC (Royal Bank of Canada). He has almost nine years of consulting/auditing experience in providing risk identification and assessment; process and system improvements; and the identification, implementation and testing of internal controls. In addition, Peter has over eight years of management experience in industry implementing financial and operational processes, systems and internal controls at large multi-location and multi-national organizations. Most recently, Peter has focused on assisting clients with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Prior to joining the CA practice, Peter was appointed to the position of Financial Controller, IT division at Hbc and was responsible for all aspects budgeting and planning, financial reporting and cost allocations, technology investments, return on investments and related internal controls. Prior to Hbc, Peter held the position of Director of Financial Systems and Process Improvements at Geac responsible for ensuring the integrity of processes and systems for its consolidation of over 40 global legal entities.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. In addition, Peter is a designated Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA – Illinois).