Position: FCA, Chairman and Partner, Wynnchurch Capital
Role at Conference: Conference Co-Chair & Opening Remarks

Richard J. Renaud has worked actively in private equity with a discipline for workout situations in Canada and the United States for over 30 years. The sectors include manufacturing, financial services and information technologies. He is currently chairman of the board of Wynnchurch Capital (private equity) and TNG Corporation (Renaud Family office), and a member of 12 corporate board of directors. He is also the longest serving member of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee of Concordia University as well as the Chairman of the Board of St. Mary’s Hospital Centre.

Mr. Renaud is a self-made businessman who owes his success to innovation and creativity. Over the years, he has applied his creative know-how to his philanthropy and has contributed in excess of $40M towards the community in a very humble and discreet manner. Mr. Renaud founded the Roasters Foundation in 1984, whose mission is education (over 300 annual bursaries to needy students in Quebec Universities), health care (continuing education for nurses in major Canadian cities in paediatric hospitals). He was Co-president of the 2005 Greater Montreal Centraide campaign which had its most successful campaign in its history.

Richard Renaud was honoured by Pope John Paul II with the Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice for distinguished service to the Church of Montreal; the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award from the Dalai Lama; and by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for the National Philanthropy Day Award in Quebec.

Mr. Renaud has always considered the importance of the training and apprenticeship that he received on his way to his CA as having served him immeasurably in his chosen field of private equity which now benefits his philanthropic giving strategies.

Position: President & CEO, eConcordia
Role at Conference: eConcordia Spokesperson
Topic: “How technology has affected the way we learn today”
As a specialist in information technology, Andrew McAusland (Concordia alumnus) has been instrumental in introducing and developing key technologies at the university level and beyond. With over 20 years experience in the field, McAusland is able to present a wealth of techniques and strategies for implementing cutting-edge technology in the workplace.

He is responsible for originating online self-learning at Concordia, and now serves as President and CEO of eConcordia, a private company mandated by the university that offers credit courses on the web. In addition to developing, writing and publishing an Introduction to Computing (INTE 290) and Introduction to Statistics (INTE 296) course, McAusland has instructed over 30,000 students throughout the past 20 years. He has made learning digitally a reality for thousands of students.

As Director of Academic Technology in the Faculty of Arts and Science for almost 20 years, McAusland created new facilities, including a Learning Centre, Language Laboratory, and multimedia classroom (complete with videoconferencing facilities). He was also responsible for upgrading facilities, conceiving new projects, web development, video-streamed technology, large-scale document imaging, and offering credit courses in academic technology.

McAusland, who was named 2003 IT Executive of the Year by Computing Canada, is also an international consultant in web development, focusing on web security issues and the development of systems architecture. He also heads a multimedia facility responsible for the production of live web-casting and web-dedicated video for advertising and instructional purposes.

Position: Professor, Michigan University & CEO & Co-Founder GoKnow, Inc.
Role at Conference: Panelist
Topic: “Mobile Learning: Big changes can come from small packages”
• Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
• Dept of EECS, College of Engineering
• University of Michigan
Elliot Soloway is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor has appointments in the Dept of EECS, College of Engineering, the School of Education, and the School of Information, at the University of Michigan. For the past 20 years, Soloway and his colleagues in the Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education (HI-CE) have been exploring the ways in which computing and communications technologies can support inquiry-based pedagogy in K-12 science classrooms. In 2001, the undergraduates at the University of Michigan selected him to receive the “Golden Apple Award” as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year. In 2002 Elliot was selected to receive the ACM SIGCSE Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award In 2004, the EECS College of Engineering HKN Honor Society awarded Elliot the “Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.” Elliot is a co-founder of GoKnow, Inc., and is its CEO.

Position: Professor, University of North Texas & Chief Education Architect, GoKnow, Inc
Role at Conference: Panelist
Topic: “Mobile Learning: Big changes can come from small packages”
• Regents Professor
• Department of Technology and Cognition
• University of North Texas
Cathleen Norris is a Regents Professor in the College of Education at the University of North Texas. Recognized by the Dallas Public Schools as an outstanding teacher – receiving the district’s Golden Apple Award – Cathie’s 14 years in high school classrooms as a mathematics and computer science teacher has shaped her university research agenda – she focuses on developing strategies for helping move K-12 teachers from the 20th century into the 21st century. Cathie has been President of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the leading international organization for technology-minded educators. From 1996 through 2001, she was the President of the National Educational Computing Association (NECA), the association that organized NECC, the premier conference on technology in K-12. Cathie is a co-founder of GoKnow, Inc. an Ann Arbor-based company that provides K-12 with mobile learning products and services.

Position: Vice President & General Manager, Dell
                    Major Public Accounts, Education, State and Local Government
Role at Conference: Panelist
Topic: “Efficient and cost-effective educational technology”
John E. Mullen, Jr. serves as Vice President/General Manager of Dell’s Education, State and Local Government businesses. Dell is a leading technology provider to Education and Government in the United States and Mr. Mullen is responsible for sales, marketing, services and customer support to these markets.. He reports to Frank Muehleman, Vice President and General Manager, Dell Public Business Group.

Mr. Mullen joined Dell in September, 1999 as Director of Sales for the Higher Education segment. Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Mullen spent 13 years at Hewlett-Packard, most recently as Director of Hewlett Packard’s Eastern Region Services Business. Other assignments while at Hewlett-Packard included Global Account Services Manager, North American Services Sales and Marketing Manager, as well as other sales, marketing and product management responsibilities. Before joining Hewlett-Packard, Mr. Mullen held various sales management positions with Dow Chemical Co. and Raychem Corporation.

Mr. Mullen earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA.

Mr. Mullen lives in Austin, TX with his wife and one son.

Position: Co-Founder, Apple, Inc.
Role at Conference: Keynote speaker
Topic: “The Cultural Paradigm of Technology and Education”
A Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist for the past three decades, Steve Wozniak helped shape the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products the Apple I and II and influenced the popular Macintosh. For his achievements at Apple Computer, Steve was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President of the United States in 1985, the highest honor bestowed on America’s leading innovators.

In 2000, Steve was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame and was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, The Economy and Employment for “single-handedly designing the first personal computer and for then redirecting his lifelong passion for mathematics and electronics toward lighting the fires of excitement for education in grade school students and their teachers.”

Making significant investments of both his time and resources in education, Wozniak “adopted” the Los Gatos School District, providing students and teachers with hands-on teaching and donations of state-of-the-art technology equipment. Wozniak founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and was the founding sponsor of the Tech Museum, Silicon Valley Ballet and Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.

Steve is also a published author with the release of his autobiography, iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon, in September 2006 by Norton Publishing.

Position: Social Media Consultant
Role at Conference: Lunch Speaker
Topic: “Cybercommunity, how it has effected socialization?”
Dave Stevens is one of Canada’s most experienced digital executives in Social Media specializing in creating successful strategies, operational efficiencies and business development resulting in revenue growth and user engagement.

Until the recent centralization of North American operations, Stevens served as the General Manager at MySpace Canada where he oversaw the operations and strategy for Canada’s premiere social media lifestyle portal serving advertisers with unique advertising solutions to reach consumers. Prior to MySpace, Stevens served in a dual role as General Manager of dose.ca and VP, Product Management and Strategy for canada.com. At dose.ca Stevens was responsible for all facets of marketing, content, operations and strategy that led to increased revenues and engagement. As VP, Product Management and Strategy for canada.com he was responsible for business development and product management for emerging media platforms including mobile, IPTV and digital signage.

Before joining CanWest, Stevens spent nearly four years at AOL Canada as Senior Manager of Content and Sales Strategy. There, he helped build the entertainment and music channels by bringing world exclusives to Canada. Stevens has an impressive background in television – at Rogers Television he was responsible for programming throughout Ontario, and built out flagship programming for OHL Hockey.

Prior to joining Rogers, Stevens was involved in the start up of Country Music Television (CMT) in Canada where he produced more than 30 concerts and live programs, including CMT’s first live nationwide event. Stevens received a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University. He is an avid hockey fan and a self proclaimed pop culture aficionado.

Position: President, Bell Canada Enterprise
Role at Conference: Lunch Speaker
Topic: “Return on investment of e-Learning”
Stéphane Boisvert belongs to the new generation of managers who enjoy challenging the status quo. A dynamic leader with a strategic change management approach, he is driven by a desire to resolve complex business issues and a focus on continually improving customer service.

Acknowledged for his disciplined approach, excellent overall technological knowledge and ability to rally team members around a shared goal, Mr. Boisvert is a manager who promotes a participatory leadership culture while paying particular attention to training future leaders.

His career in the technology sector began in 1985 when he was hired by IBM as a commercial accounts manager. He quickly stood out and played a critical role in IBM’s $30 million investment in NetGen, a program created to support technology start-ups across the country. Success quickly followed, and barely a year later his business unit increased its revenues from $12 million to $150 million.

In 2002, Sun Microsystems offered Stéphane a challenge that he was unable to resist: to turn around the corporation’s activities in Canada. In a mere three years, he completely revamped the operations of the Canadian division, as a result of which it moved from 14th place to 1st place in terms of profitability and earnings growth. In 2005, Mr. Boisvert moved to California, where he led a specialized Sun Microsystems group dedicated to the integration of international acquisitions.

M. Boisvert joined Bell in 2006. In 2009 he was appointed President of Bell Business Markets. As part of this function, he is responsible for the operations of a business unit that offers leading-edge products and services to all Canadian businesses of varying size and scope.

Mr. Boisvert currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation and the Fondation de l’Hôpital Sainte-Justine. In 2000, Mr. Boisvert was named to Canada’s prestigious “Top 40 under 40” list of successful businesspeople.

A Montréal native, Mr. Boisvert holds a degree from McGill University. He has two children, to whom he devotes considerable time despite his undeniably heavy workload.

Position: Chief Executive Officer, Olameter Inc.
Role at Conference: Lunch Speaker
Topic: “e-Learning and the structure of tomorrow's university”
Mr. Jan Peeters is Chairman, President and CEO of Olameter Inc., which he founded in 1998. Olameter is a leading meter service company in North America. It provides services to over 2.5 million meters located across 130 communities, and offers a full range of telemetry and back-office systems to utilities (electricity, gas, water) and others; including meter reading, billing, data collection, aggregation and automated site management services.

Jan Peeters was a founder, and CEO, of ƒONOROLA Inc., a long distance telephone company and the main developer of inter-city fibre-optic-based networks in Canada and the northern United States. In June 1998, the company was acquired by Call-Net Enterprises, an affiliate of U.S. Sprint, for C$1.8 billion.

Prior to this, he spent 13 years with the SNC-Lavalin Group, at that time Canada’s largest engineering and construction company, ultimately leaving once the company was taken public in 1986. He is a Governor of McGill University, the Chairman of the Boards of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc., (a Canadian cable company), a member of the board, and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Intersil Corporation (a NASDAQ-100 semiconductor company), and iNOVIA Capital (a universitybased venture seed capital company).

Position: Chairman of the Board, Miranda Technologie Inc.
Role at Conference: Conference Co-Chair, Moderator and Closing Remarks

Brian Edwards is an entrepreneur and founder of one of North America’s most successful electronic commerce companies, BCE Emergis previously MPACT Immedia. From 1988 to 2002, the company grew from a start-up to a company with revenues of over $650 million dollars, over 2000 employees and a market capitalization that reached $15 billion. For ten consecutive years Emergis was named one of Profit magazine's 100 fastest growing companies in Canada and also made the Deloitte & Touche Fast 500, which makes up the 500 fastest growing companies in America.

In addition to being Chairman of the Board of Miranda Technologies Inc., Brian Edwards is Chairman of the Board of Biotonix Inc. and iSoft Technologies. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Camoplast Inc.

Mr. Edwards is very active in the community. He is vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of Concordia University and a trustee of the Foundation for Irish Studies. He is a past president of CATA (Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance) and is very active in Centraide including being a past Co-Chairman of the Centraide of Greater Montreal campaign.

Brian Edwards holds a B. Comm. from Concordia University.