TORONTO, January 25, 2001 --

What?    Rotman MBA Business Conference The Consolidation Paradigm A Path to Global Competitiveness

When?    Friday, January 26, 2000, 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

Where?    Fleck Atrium, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, 105 St. George Street (south of Bloor Street) Toronto

Media?    Please contact Ken McGuffin at 416-946-3818 to confirm your attendance.

With the unprecedented rate of change in the business world today, are mergers and developing new alliances an appropriate strategy for firms to remain globally competitive? Leaders from some of the world’s top corporations will examine this question at the annual Rotman MBA Business Conference, “The Consolidation Paradigm A Path to Global Competitiveness” on January 26 at the Rotman School.

Keynote speakers at the conference include:

• David Kassie, Vice-Chairman, CIBC, and Chief Executive Officer, CIBC World Markets. He is also Chairman of CIBC Capital Partners. Prior to his current responsibilities, Mr. Kassie was Head of Global Investment and Corporate Banking, as well as Head of the U.S. region. In 1989, he founded and led CIBC World Markets’ CIBC Capital Partners. He has extensive experience as an advisor, underwriter and principal. He sits on a number of boards including Alliance Atlantis Communications, First International Asset Management Inc., and Telesystem International Wireless.
• Michael Sabia, BCom’76, President, BCE and Vice-Chairman Corporate, Bell Canada. Previously Mr,.Sabia was Vice-Chairman and CEO of BCI. Before joining BCI, he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian National Railway Company. Prior to joining CN in 1993, He held a number of senior positions in the Canadian Federal Public Service.
• Roger Martin, Dean, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. Previously, he was a director of Monitor Company, an international strategy consulting firm based in Cambridge, Mass. He currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Thomson Corporation, Celestica Inc., Ontario SuperBuild Corporation, the Canadian Film Centre, as a Trustee of The Hospital For Sick Children, and as a member of the Joint Committee on Corporate Governance.

• Larry Baldachin, Executive MBA’94, President and CEO, Liberty Technology Services. Under his leadership, Liberty Technology Services grew from Compugen Professional Services Ltd. becoming an independent company in 1999. Recently the company was acquired by Norigen Communications. Prior to founding Liberty. Mr. Baldachin was the Chief Operating Officer at Compugen Systems Ltd.
• Teri Brown, Executive MBA’ 88, National Director, Growth & Development, Watson Wyatt. She also continues to consult as a member of Watson Wyatt’s Mergers & Acquisitions team. Previously, she held senior positions with a health and life sciences company and with a financial institution.
• Jim Coutts, Executive MBA’99, President, Coutts & Company Inc.
• Bobby John, Executive Vice President and Founder, Personus A graduate of U of T’s Computer Engineering Program, Mr. John co-founded Personus in 1995, bringing to the company a strong background in technology strategy, product development, and cross-functional team management.
• Marianne Harris, Managing Director of Investment Banking and Head of the Financial Institutions Group Canada, Merrill Lynch. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 2000, Ms. Harris was head of the Financial Institutions Group at RBC Dominion Securities.
• Dennis Kavelman, Chief Financial Officer, Research in Motion. Prior to joining RIM in March 1995, Mr Kavelman was in Corporate Finance at KPMG. He is also a Chartered Accountant.
• Ken McCord, Senior Vice President, Investment Strategy & Communication, AIM Funds Management Inc.
• Andrew Muroff, President, SoftQuad; Previously, he was Director of Corporate and Legal Development with CYBERPLEX Inc., an international Internet professional services firm. Prior to his tenure at CYBERPLEX, he was Director of Business Development at Managed Network Systems Inc., an international Internet provider. He is a musician and a member of the Michigan Bar.
• Ken Smith, Senior Vice President, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Mr. Smith leads the Strategy Practice of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in Canada focusing on issues of corporate development.

Recently ranked by Business Week in the top tier of business schools in the world, the University of Toronto’s Rotman School offers leading-edge research and undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including the prestigious Rotman MBA, the newly redesigned Part-Time MBA, the Executive MBA, a first-rate Doctoral Program, the distinctive Master of Management & Professional Accounting program, combined programs with the University of Toronto faculties of Law, Engineering and Nursing, and an innovative series of Executive Programs tailored to the current needs of businesses and individual managers.

Ken McGuffin
Media Relations Officer
Rotman School of Management
Voice: (416) 946-3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca

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