Al Hudec, Corporate Finance
Al Hudec is recognized as a leading Canadian securities practitioner with 25 years of experience in all legal aspects of securities and corporate finance, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings of equity and debt, corporate governance and related party transactions, regulation of listed companies and restructurings; with emphasis on technology industries. Al’s practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (takeovers and arrangements), public equity financings (including bought deals and tax-incentive financings), board and independent committee representation and venture capital financings. He is a partner at Farris (www.farris.ca) and has previously practiced at other major law firms in Vancouver, Calgary and New York. Al has a Master of Laws degree from the University of Toronto and a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Bill Tam, Corporate Strategy
Bill is a strategic marketing visionary and has been a driving force in new telecom and wireless ventures over the past 18 years. He is currently the CEO of the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA). Recently the President & CEO of EQO Communications, Bill has been actively involved in guiding the success of entrepreneurial companies as an executive, investor and board member. Bill was a founding executive and Chief Marketing Officer at MetroNet Communications, the first and largest CLEC in Canada. Bill has also held senior executive positions at AT&T Canada, Rogers Communications, Jones Cable, Infowave Software and Bell Canada. Mr. Tam is currently the Chairman of the Board at Colligo Networks and an advisor of Constructive Media and SpringBank TechVentures. Bill holds an MBA from Ivey Business School and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from McGill University.
Bill’s work with Jostle is through the Centre4Growth, an initiative of the BCTIA. Launched in September 2010, C4G provides venture services to BC tech entrepreneurs and works with some of the most promising companies in BC’s technology sector.
David Stevens, Intellectual Property
David Stevens is the principal at Stevens Law Group, a Silicon Valley based firm specializing in intellectual property strategy, protection and litigation. Drawing on his own entrepreneurial background, David is well known for providing sensible, pragmatic advice to young technology companies and his ability to make important connections to strategic partners and investors. He frequent speaks to professional organizations and universities on topics related to intellectual property, patent portfolios strategies and patent licensing. David has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Lawrence Technological University and a JD from the Mercy School of Law at University of Detroit.
Jon Husband, Enterprise 2.0 and HR Consulting
Jon Husband is an organizational consultant well known for his deep understanding of the impact of the Web on the internal workings of organizations. From the mid-80’s to the mid ‘90’s, as a Senior Principal in the Hay Group, Jon consulted to major multinational corporations on HR strategy, organizational effectiveness, organizational change and leadership development. Over the past decade he has concentrated on the growing impacts of IT and the Web on the design and dynamics of knowledge work and social interaction online. He coined the term “wirearchy” in 1999, a concept that captures the organizational power that comes from using emerging Web technologies to marry collaborative networks and hierarchical approaches. In 2008 Jon published a book titled “Making Knowledge Work – the arrival of Web 2.0”. He is a regular contributor to the high-profile blogs FASTForward and The AppGap, and is an active international speaker on the Web’s growing impact on enterprises and society.