When: Wednesday,
June 23, 2010, Registration and Networking, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM,
Presentation and Discussion 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Florida Atlantic
University, FAU Alumni Center, Marleen and Harold Forkas Alumni
Center,
777 Glades Road Building FA 94, Boca Raton.
Click here for directions
CEO Roundtable will feature:
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Greg Faust, Co-Founder of Valid Technologies.
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Joel Ledlow, CEO of ScheduAll.
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Riaz Merchant, Founder and CEO of Mertech Data Systems, Inc.
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Mark Patten, Principal at Crossbow Ventures.
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Albert B. Maggio, Jr. (Moderator), is Of Counsel to Carey,
Rodriguez, Greenberg & Paul, LLP.
How does an early stage company re-design its business model?
When is the time to adjust a successful product focus for the promise
of a better one? Which model provides better access to
capital?
Join a real time experience and live presentation by a company
as it prepares to evolve in a new direction. Our interactive
case study features a local biometric authentication company.
You participate in the "real-time" analysis,
deconstruction, and re-engineering of the business model of an
emerging technology company that has been generating revenue. The
dialogue between the company, panelists, and audience will provide an
inside look into the dynamics of business evolution.
Learn the views of the seasoned entrepreneurial CEO's and a
venture capital principal on subjects such as:
- How do you decide whether to remain a service provider or
become a standard product company
- Where is the greater value opportunity?
- Should you really say "no" to your customers and partners?
- What are the optimal distribution channels?
- How do you attract investors?
Join us at FAU's Boca Raton campus on Thursday, 23 June.
Registration and networking are from 6 to 7 PM. The interactive
panel discussion will run from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
More about the panelists:
Greg Faust
is a co-founder of Valid Technologies located in Boca
Raton. Valid was formed in 2004 to develop commercial
applications of biometric technologies, specifically targeting
enterprise computing needs for security, compliance, and user
productivity. The product offerings, known as VSSA, provide IBM
tested and approved solutions for biometric log-on, single sign-on,
and transaction level user authentication within virtually any
program. Valid developed marketing and strategic alliance
programs with multiple companies, including IBM, Motorola, SecuGen,
and Upek. Dealers for VSSA come primarily from the ranks of
IBM’s global reseller network.
Prior to joining Valid, Greg was an area manager for regional
banking and trust organizations. He also served clients of
global advertising agencies, including divisions of J. Walter Thompson
and Young & Rubicam.
Greg holds a B.A. and M.P.A. from Syracuse University, and an
M.B.A. - C.A.I.S. (Computer Applications and Information Systems) from
the N.Y.U. Graduate School of Business Administration.
Joel Ledlow
is CEO of ScheduAll. Prior to that, Mr. Ledlow was CEO
of Acarra. Joel Ledlow has over 19 years of executive-level sales,
marketing and business development experience with an emphasis on
recognizing emerging markets and implementing scalable best practices
that significantly improve stakeholder value. He also served as VP for
CyberGuard Corporation (NASDAQ:CGFW) where he was responsible for
globally re-engineering the company's sales and marketing message,
implementing aggressive channel and alliance growth strategies and
exponentially growing top line revenues for the organization's largest
sales division worldwide. During his tenure CyberGuard became
profitable, revenues grew more than 400% and share price increased
from $1.30 to over $12.
Before joining CyberGuard, Mr. Ledlow served as CEO/President of
TouchPoint, a boutique-consulting firm, providing learning system and
business development services to numerous Fortune 500 companies.
Ledlow positioned and sold the company to GCG, a national business
development-consulting firm later that same year.
Ledlow earned his Bachelors degree in Business from Lynn
University where he graduated with top honors, and has earned numerous
leading "advanced executive certifications" in the fields of
Sales, Strategy, Management, Negotiating, Quality of Service, and Technology.
Riaz Merchant
is the founder and CEO of Mertech Data Systems, Inc., the
leading provider of specialty, high-performance database connectivity
drivers. Mertech’s product allows companies to switch their
enterprise databases without re-engineering their application source.
Founded in 1997, Mertech has established a worldwide presence,
powering mission critical applications at over 7000 companies in 24 countries.
Riaz has a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from
FIU, where he published several papers related to application of
artificial intelligence to power load forecasting.
Mark Patten
is a Principal at Crossbow Ventures. Mark has been with
Crossbow Ventures for 10 years, and currently serves as a Principal
and Member of the Firm’s Investment Committee. During his time
with Crossbow, Mark has been part of deal teams responsible for
investing over $100 million of the Firm’s committed capital
focused primarily on early and expansion stage companies in the
Southeast US. Mark has spent the majority of his time working on
portfolio matters as well as conducting due diligence on opportunities
across a range of the Firm’s preferred industry sectors. He is
currently responsible for portfolio company management, deal
origination and evaluation and Limited Partner reporting. Mark is also
a former Director of ScriptRx (Florida-based Healthcare IT company)
and InfoDesk (New York based SasS company) on behalf of Crossbow.
Mark is also involved in Florida’s Investment and
Entrepreneurial community, having served as a ‘Presenter
Coach’ for companies presenting at the Florida Venture Capital
Conference, participating on panel discussions for various
organizations to discuss venture capital for early stage companies and
serving as a judge for both the Annual Business Plan Competition
and Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) at Florida
Atlantic University. For the past three years, Mark has also been the
‘VC Coach’ for the MBA students participating in the competition.
Mark earned his BS in Business Administration from Methodist
College, received an MBA from Florida Atlantic University and is a
Graduate of the Venture Capital Institute.
Albert B. Maggio, Jr. (Moderator)
, is Of Counsel to Carey, Rodriguez, Greenberg & Paul, LLP,
a boutique law firm focusing on intellectual property transactions and
litigation and other complex commercial litigation. He is also the
principal of Scopra, a consultancy focused on providing ethics,
compliance, due diligence, and IP verification services to technology,
venture capital, and investment banking firms.
Prior to his admission to practice law, Mr. Maggio held sales
and management positions with several major computer companies, where
he was responsible for managing strategic relationships with their
largest accounts. He is currently vice president and a member of the
board of directors of the South Florida Technology Alliance (SFTA), an
executive committee member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of South
Florida and a board member and secretary of Il Circolo – The
Italian Cultural Society of the Palm Beaches.
Mr. Maggio received a J.D., cum laude, from the New England
School of Law, an M.B.A. in international marketing management from
the Lubin School of Business at Pace University and a B.S. in
marketing and international business from the Stern School of Business
at New York University.