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Lay-offs and downsizing are inflection points for change. Can you turn your expertise and talent into a viable software business? Come and meet your peers for an interactive panel discussion by people who have-been-there-and-done-that. Leverage this complimentary OSC event to help equip yourself for successful change and the next big thing.

Moderator: Bruce Lazenby, Chair, Ottawa Software Cluster

Panelists:

Martin Horne, CEO, iPeak Networks
Martin Horne has over 25 years experience in High Technology including management positions with Digital Equipment, DY-4 and Monenco Agra.  For the last 15 years Martin has founded and led several venture backed companies as CEO.  His has returned to investors over $122M on $19M capital raised.  In 1994 he founded ProMIRA Software and in 1998 he sold it to Manugistics.  In late 1998 he founded Nitidus Technology and in 1999 he sold the company to Parametric Technologies.  Most recently as founding CEO, Martin financed and grew the online Web 2.0 travel site TravelPod into the leading Travel Blog community culminating in an acquisition in late 2006 by online travel leader Expedia.  Martin is currently the CEO of IPeak Networks, a WAN Optimization Company.

Will Hickie, CEO, Wicksoft
In the summer of 2006, Will Hickie quit his full time job as a software developer with a local Ottawa company.  With no investment capital, no revenue, and an idea for the future, he founded WICKSoft Corporation. Since then WICKSoft has grown to include customers in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia.   With offices located in downtown Ottawa, WICKSoft has been growing steadily, exporting its mobile collaboration technology worldwide.  Its customers include some well known organizations such as Procter and Gamble, 19 Entertainment (American Idol), and the Governor of California. WICKSoft  was recently featured in the February issue of Ottawa Technology Magazine, appeared in INC. Magazine, and was included alongside IBM by industry analysts in a 2009 report on mobile collaboration.

Ian Graham, Founder, TheCodeFactory
Ian Graham is founder of TheCodeFactory, a Certified Management Consultant and principle at Klondike Marketing and consulting working with early stage knowledge based businesses. He has over 15 years of Telecom industry experience with Newbridge, Alcatel and Bayly Communications. Ian has worked as a Product Manager defining product releases and marketing strategy, Project Manager leading a team of over 100 rolling out a major product release, and New Product Introduction specialist providing technical support and training for customers on alpha and beta releases and in a variety of R&D positions. He earned his CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation from the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, has an MBA from the University of Ottawa earned while continuing to work full time and has a technical diploma from Algonquin College.  Ian is very active in the local technology community: chief instigator of the Democamp event series, Chair of the CMC Technology Committee, member of the eBusiness Cluster Executive, member of the Ottawa Software Cluster Executive and The Ottawa Network Board of Directors.

Aydin Mirzaee, Co-CEO, Chide.it
Aydin is the Co-CEO at Chide.it Inc., a new-age software company focused on collaboration/review software.  An avid technologist and passionate entrepreneur, Aydin is a graduate of the Electrical Engineering & Management program at the University of Ottawa and has co-founded a number of companies in the tech sector. Prior to Chide.it, he founded a Mobile 2.0 company called bOK Systems. Before that, Aydin was part of the Platform Network Management Division at Nortel Networks. Before Nortel, he was in charge of fundraising for the Student World Assembly (a global non-governmental organization).

Ken Toews, CEO, BCTINT Limited
Ken is President and CEO of BCTINT Limited, a multinational corporation with offices in Canada, Shenzhen, China and New Delhi, India. Ken founded BCTNT Limited to meet the needs of North American companies that require the price points provided by Asian manufacturing but do not have the volumes of business to support an office with engineering, administrative, quality and program management staff in Asia. Ken is on the Board of Directors of three companies in Canada, China and India and has 30 years of tooling manufacturing experience working as: Founder and President BCTINT Limited; Tooling Engineer; Manufacturing Manager; Tool Designer; and Tool and Die Maker.