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| | 05/12/2003 |
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| | Kettle and CalPERS draw a large response: debate over the meaning of IRR; ATP explained, Jerry Mitchell on lessons from Silicon Valley and how Illinois can learn from what they did |
| | May 12, 2003
The May Report
Your inside source on Chicago's high tech community
The May Report: 5/12/2003: Kettle and CalPERS draw a large response: debate over the meaning of IRR; ATP explained, Jerry Mitchell on lessons from Silicon Valley and how Illinois can learn from what they did
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Scoop section:
-- KB Partners even worse than Kettle
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1. READER COMMENTS AND RESPONSES
1a. ATP funding, properly understood
1b. Nik Rokop: An explanation of IRR and how it can be a tricky number
1c. Mike Meup: Prism Opportunity Fund
1d. Kettle Partners
1e. IRR on venture funds
1f. Brad Spirrison: Wouldn't report on kettle partners my a**.
1g. Bill Snow/VC/Anonymity
2. COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
2a. Liz Ryan: WorldWIT update
2b. Rosalie Harris: CADM milestones
3. Special Reports and Features
3a. Jerry Mitchell's President's Message on Lessons from Silicon Valley: How Illinois can become a center for innovation and growth
4. LINKS OF INTEREST
4a. Softbank Reports $852M Loss for Year
4b. Avocent buys Tellabs' former plant in Ireland
4c. Biopharma Firm APT Therapeutics Names Eric Leire as CEO
4d. BancBoston to sell restaurant chains
4e. Investors angry over Flip's flops by Julie Johnsson and a response by Ron May
5. OTHER (Events)
5a. Saturday, May 17: Assoc. of Chinese Scientists and Engineers: 2003 Spring Event
5b. Thursday, May 22: iBio Venture Capital panel
5c. Friday and Saturday, May 16-17: TiE Conference in Santa Clara, California
5d. Thursday, June 5: SMEI Chicago: Office Depot Marketing Chief speaks
[Editor's note: Ron May here. I obviously made an error in my title for the article sent on Saturday night about the CalPERS data. The headline should have read "106 venture funds" not "106 pension funds."]
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The Scoop section:
KB Partners even worse than Kettle
From: Name withheld upon request.
To: ron@themayreport.com
Subject: KB Partners even worse than Kettle
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 08:13:22 -0500
Keep my identity secret and hide my email address.
I read your article about Kettle's minus 64% returns to its investors. You should know that KB Partners has lost even more money for their investors than Kettle did. Almost all of their portfolio companies are on their last legs or are already gone. Remember Ethnic Grocer? Remember Cobotics? Remember Trafficop? All dead. And the rest of their companies have done down rounds that cut their valuations in half or worse. KB Partners has an even worse track record than Kettle. You should expose them. Ask KB Partners if you can see their latest investor report.
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1. READER COMMENTS AND RESPONSES
1a. ATP funding, properly understood
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 19:28:40 -0400
From: SPL233@aol.com
To: ron@themayreport.com
Subject: ATP Funding
Ron,
Both you and Bob Binder have taken a misunderstanding of ATP grants and turned it into an indictment of the funding environment.
First, the ATP website states the following- "The ATP provides cost-share funding in the critical early stages of R&D, when research risks are too high for other sources of funding." Gee, didn't Binder get turned down by "other sources of financing" for being too early? Sounds like the system's working to me!
Second, ATP also says that "The ATP funds R&D to develop high-risk technologies up to the point where it is feasible for companies to begin product development, but that they must do on their own." Since the ATP funds tend to be granted over 2 to 4 years, the technology being financed by ATP is at least that far away from commercial production and revenue. Gee, is that "too early"? Ya think?
ATP assesses technologies with commercial POTENTIAL, not whether they will turn out to be real products.
ATP is focused on financing RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, not execution of a business model.
ATP looks mainly at technologies that have BROAD BASED NATIONAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS, which are not necessarily those that are the best investment prospects.
You also throw shots at the local community and how it doesn't understand (or attempt to understand) technologies and how ATP really works hard to. Well, according to NIST they have over 3,000 employees and an $800 million budget. Perhaps its easy to have experts when you have those resources. Oh, and those of you who think I'm generalizing can chew on the following- Bush is trying to kill ATP and even in an orderly wind down the budget request is still over $30 million next year.
Ron, how many "experts" have told you that successful entrepreneurship is all about management. Well, who wants to deal with and finance a CEO who whines about lack of money and names names as well?
I congratulate the company and wish it luck, and ATP success is a significant milestone. Just don't let it get to either of your heads.
________________
1b. Nik Rokop: An explanation of IRR and how it can be a tricky number
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 14:24:34 -0500
From: Nik Rokop <nrokop@nlake.com>
Organization: nLake Technology Partners, LLC
To: ron@themayreport.com
Subject: Re: The May Report: 5/10/2003: The California Pension fund,CalPERS,
reveals returns for 106 pension funds and Chicago's KettlePartners
Limited Partnership II ranks seventh from the bottomnationally with a
negative 64.10% net-IRR; ARCH Venture V shows only asmall loss
Ron,
I enjoyed our discussion today, and as you requested, I've written a short explanation of IRR and its usage in this article. I don't want to argue the merit, or lack thereof, of the disclosure of the returns of VC funds. However, I do believe there is little merit in making judgements using these returns without understanding their meaning or applicability. In fact, unwarranted damage can be done if these erroneous judgements are made by those controlling a public forum (yes! - you).
There are many problems with interpreting this data meaningfully (for example, what is "remaining value"?)...I will just highlight the measure you used to make your judgements in the article as to which funds perform "better or worse": IRR
First, a definition:
IRR
Internal Rate of Return. The rate of return that would make the present value of future cash flows plus the final market value of an investment or business opportunity equal the current market price of the investment or opportunity.
(source: www.investorwords.com - emphasis is mine)
One really needs to estimate future cash flows for quite a period of time in order to make a meaningful estimate of IRR. The calculation by Grove Street Advisors for CalPers was done for the past without future cash flows taken into account. I wonder why they used this measure...since even they give the following disclaimer at the bottom of the chart:
"Internal rates of return (IRR) and multiples are not meaningful in the early years of a fund nor are they indicative of future performance."
Now, an Example:
From Excel, here's an example that shows how in the early years for an investment the IRR is substantially negative, but how it changes to positive after another two years:
Suppose you want to start a restaurant business. You estimate it will cost $70,000 to start the business and expect to net the following income in the first five years: $12,000, $15,000, $18,000, $21,000, and $26,000. B1:B6 contain the following values: $-70,000, $12,000, $15,000, $18,000, $21,000 and $26,000, respectively.
To calculate the investment's internal rate of return after four years:
IRR(B1:B5) equals -2.12 percent
To calculate the internal rate of return after five years:
IRR(B1:B6) equals 8.66 percent
To calculate the internal rate of return after two years, you need to include a guess:
IRR(B1:B3,-10%) equals -44.35 percent
Ron, the above example is instructive because the annual return on investment for each of the first four years is: 17.1%, 21.4%, 25.7%, 30.0%. Most investors would be happy to have that kind of return, despite the negative IRR up to that point.
The problem, as you can see, is with the definition and application of IRR. I'm sure you can now appreciate how a "liquidity event" early (or later) in a fund's performance can make a substantial impact on IRR. This is shown by the Clearstone Venture Partners I, which returned nearly double its investment in the first few years (few of the other funds listed have yet had such liquidity events). Timing is everything!
Now, what might be a better measure of a VC fund's performance? That I'll leave to the VCs or their investors to answer!
I hope your readers will be critical with their analysis and reading of these charts and limit their judgements of the funds to meaningful data (which, clearly, is very difficult to obtain, despite CalPers' claim of opening their books).
Sincerely,
Nik Rokop
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1c. Mike Meup: Prism Opportunity Fund
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 08:25:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Meup <mike_meup@yahoo.com>
Subject: Prism Opportunity Fund
To: ron@themayreport.com
Prism Opportunity Fund is a local venture capital fund in Chicago and is not related to Prism Venture Partners which is based in California. The information you reported in your last May Report showed Prism Venture Partners as a local fund.
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1d. Kettle Partners
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 19:34:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Name withheld upon request.
Subject: Kettle Partners
To: ron@themayreport.com
Ron-
I couldn't resist the urge to respond to your report on Kettle Partners and their lackluster spot in the CalPERS rankings. I had no dealings to speak of with the firm, however had some detailed discussions with Epigraph on some partnering opportunities. My team and I met with Josh briefly before his departure and then mostly dealt with the new senior mgmt team. Our combined impression of the product and leadership was not very high. We had a combined 52 years of enterprise SW experience looking at their stuff as well as a guy who has sold 2 SW companies in excess of $127 million. We came away very unimpressed and believing that mgmt had a low level understanding not only of Enterprise SW, but also of their own value proposition. I make this point to not cast a negative shadow on the Epigraph team, but more to point out how typical this is for most VC's and tech start ups in Chicagoland. VC's who are A players, recruit and retain A mgmt teams to lead their organizations. Where the product has immense value to the marketplace, the non-A players can get lucky due to the product itself or that the A mgmt guy sees the upside and signs on in spite of the non A player VC.
My point - dealing with a firm funded by Kettle, it is pretty easy to see why their rankings were so low. We in Chicago need to focus on getting to the roots of good business - solid product with market value and solid leadership making sound decisions.
Please keep my name confidential
_____________________
1e. IRR on venture funds
From: Name withheld upon request.
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
Subject: IRR on venture funds
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 12:09:50 -0500
Please keep my contact information confidential.
This is the first validation I have seen in the public domain of my
personal observations that VC's are no "smarter" and have no
better "insight" as to what is a viable opportunity for investment
than the average Joe on the street. In fact this really indicates
that, when it comes to identifying technology or business opportunities
that are real and not "Memorex", the VC's really fall short.
Maybe it's time for the VC's to get off their respective high horses,
cut the arrogance and learn something. They always should have
taken the time to evaluate the real potential of these opportunities
they see.
One final comment - If so many of these deals have gone south so
badly, it really begs the question of how good conventional thinking
really is regarding the argument of "top tier" management teams vs.
"top tier" technology and/or business ideas. Doesn't it!
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1f. Brad Spirrison: Wouldn't report on kettle partners my a**.
From: "Brad Spirrison" <brad@eprairie.com>
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
Subject: wouldn't report on kettle partners my a**...
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 08:20:18 -0500
kettle's involvement with epigraph had/has nothing to do with eP's coverage
of that firm. also, Vintage 2000 means the fund closed raising capital that
year. so, yeah, funds that raised in 2000 are in the crapper...
tell your mom happy mothers day. talk later...
Brad Spirrison
Vice President
ePrairie.com Inc.
312-804-9844
jspirrison (AOL Screen Name)
"Take a simple C to G
And feel brand new about it..."
-Allen Toussaint
___________________
1g. Bill Snow/VC/Anonymity
From: Name withheld upon request.
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 03:15:31 EDT
Subject: Bill Snow/VC/Anonymity
To: Ron@themayreport.com
Ron,
Please withhold my name and contact info, you'll see why.
I'm the person who complimented Bill Snow. I have never met him, and although I stand by what I said about his writing, he seems to be like a lot of folks in this industry--pretty smart, but ultimately an a****le.
From those of us who, in Bill Snow's view, do not have the "balls" to have our name accompany our letters to Ron May, I offer the fact that copy on the Internet is forever.
I do not wish to be immortalized--at least during future Google checks--in the eyes of potential employees, colleagues, partners or investors by my occasional writing in to your newsletter. Perhaps if one is now on the downside of a life's career instead of the upside, this type of immortalization of discussions that have so much importance right now, but will be meaningless in five years isn't an issue.
For now, I will remain anonymous. I also offer up this argument to all of the lecturers that believe that Ron May should only accept signed notes (I imagine he would also then have to fact-check the name, like the letters-to-the-editors are checked at newspapers). I have watched this happen in the past. Although a slightly different example, I watched an employee bulletin board transition from fully anonymous to requiring sign-in. The level of contributions dropped to almost nothing. If this happens here, the May Report would no longer have any news that Ron himself didn't dig up. And Ron's been pretty lazy lately.
The population is filled with people like me, who do not wish to have all of our casual thoughts and notes archived for the future. Conversations aren't archived and this report is just an extension of a conversation, isn't it?
If I had an editor and time to re-write and re-draft items that I actually wanted to last into perpetuity, I would feel different about this.
I offer some age-old advice: Bill Snow, it looks like you are trying to start a consulting practice. Real nice first impression...not. I actually complimented your writing and in return was told I had no "balls". You must be a pleasure to work with.
To the others, if you don't like anonymous contributions (I draw the line at actual slander that has been getting Ron sued; a prudent man knows the difference) then don't read the report.
______________________
2. COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
2a. Liz Ryan: WorldWIT update
From: "Liz Ryan" <lizryan@flash.net>
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
Subject: WorldWIT update
Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 13:40:04 -0600
Hiya Ron!
Hello from Boulder! Sorry I missed you at the ChicWIT event at the Metropolitan Club on April 28th. It was fun. I wanted to let you know about a bunch of new WorldWIT groups that have sprung up all over. Here they are:
In St. Louis, we have a new group called ArchWIT - former Chicagoan (and a workmate of mine from good old U.S. Robotics) Sara Tegman is the Executive Director there.
In Indiana, there's a new WorldWIT group called IndyWIT, run by software entrepreneur Diane Newcum.
In Paris, France, another transplanted Chicagoan, Carolyn Moncel of MotionTemps, has launched OuiWIT!
In northern Florida, we have PanhandleWIT, led by Executive Director Maggie Masar, a technology marketing/pr guru.
And in Connecticut, Barbara Zaim-Sassi has launched ConnectWIT!
We have more new groups on the way! The WorldWIT community of women (and a few men) in business and technology is over 25,000 strong now and the free, moderated WorldWIT discussion groups are an incredible resource for networking, advice and information on a million topics. I would love to hear from anyone who's interested in joining one of these communities or, of course, the 'mother ship,' the 5000+-member ChicWIT group in Chicago, led by Executive Director Jeanne Walters of Vox, Inc.
Thanks Ron! take care -
Liz Ryan
www.worldwit.org
_________________
2b. Rosalie Harris: CADM milestones
From: RHCS@aol.com
Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 11:21:04 EDT
Subject: CADM milestones
To: ron@themayreport.com
Ron,
The Chicago Association of Direct Marketing hasn't slowed down after the recent DM Days & Expo and Tempo.
Next week, CADM will mark the anniversaries of two one-of-a-kind local programs that have become fixtures on the Chicago direct marketing scene. Hope you'll consider running an item:
On Tuesday, May 20, the final session of the 45th annual CADM Basic Course will pay special honor to Robert (Bob) Enlow. Enlow, long retired as one of the earliest American Medical Association direct mail gurus, also was a founder of Chicago DM Days (1954) and CADM (1955), and the association's third president and first education chair. In his latter role, he helped create the Basic Course, which began as a partnership with Roosevelt University. Today, CADM operates two 11-week sessions of the Basic Course, whose faculty are seasoned members. Thousands of entry-level direct marketers have gone through the course, which teaches through lectures, texts, and hands-on team assignments. Enlow will serve as an honorary judge for the team presentations. The evening's celebration will take place at DePaul University's Loop Campus.
The fifth anniversary of "Direct Marketing for NonProfits," sponsored by CADM's Direct From the Heart committee, will be noted on Wednesday, May 21, at the all-day seminar at the Field Museum. At $85 for members and $95 for non-members, this seminar provides powerful and practical information--plus, breakfast and lunch--for an audience that needs results, now! Among the organizations who are sending speakers are the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Contemporary Art, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Chicago Easter Seals. For information and reservations, contact George Buckley at (312)849-2236 x25, gbuckley@cadm.org, or www.cadm.org.
Regards,
Rosalie Harris
Public Relations Consultant
CADM
Rosalie Harris:Creative Solutions
680 N. Lake Shore Dr. #1523
Chicago, IL 60611
Telephone: (312)642-2163
Cell: (312)405-2163
Fax: (312)337-4484
RHCS@aol.com
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3. Special Reports and Features
3a. Jerry Mitchell's President's Message on Lessons from Silicon Valley: How Illinois can become a center for innovation and growth
Lessons from Silicon Valley: How Illinois can become a center for innovation and growth
Living in the midst of one of the greatest economic expansions of all time,
with technological innovations like cell phones, unlimited Internet access,
and powerful computers available to growing numbers of people, it is natural
to assume that Illinois has made the transition to the high-tech Information
Age.
Recent studies, however, suggest such is not the case. Indeed, Illinois may
be falling further behind other areas of the country, drifting into the wake
of such "powerhouse" regions as Boise, Idaho, and Bismarck, North Dakota.
Technology is leading the economic growth in these regions, and thus it is
no surprise that policy makers "from Jerusalem to China are trying to clone
Silicon Valley.? But exactly how regions have gone about this "cloning" to a
large degree has determined their success.
Research comparing California?s Silicon Valley and Route 128 in Boston,
which had received substantial local and state government subsidies and
targeted tax cuts, show that "by the 1990?s, only thirteen of the Route 128
region?s start-ups surpassed $100 million in revenues, as opposed to
forty-seven in Silicon Valley."
Why did the California entrepreneurs succeed at a nearly four-to-one pace?
One study suggests that the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs ignored lobbying
for various tax breaks or government help, and instead of pursuing steady,
predictable growth, they thrived on staying small, nimble, and flexible all
of which are discouraged by involvement with government bureaucracies and
its layers of forms, inspections, and regulations.
How does this comparison of Boston and Silicon Valley relate to Illinois?
An analysis of the top 50 "metro high-tech growth" regions in the country
provides the answer. Conspicuously absent is a single Illinois city. Texas
leads the list with ten such metro areas; California, six; and Arkansas,
Arizona, and Idaho all have two. Even Kentucky and Iowa have at least one.
But not Illinois
Measured a different way, namely, by looking at how much technology is
concentrated in an area, Illinois is once again invisible. Whereas Silicon
Valley has an index of technology concentration of 23.6, and Los Angeles a
concentration of nearly 7 (with Route 128 coming in third, at 6.3), Illinois
doesn?t have a single high tech concentration that would even put it on a
par with Rochester, Minnesota, Denver, or Albuquerque.
By looking at "concentration," or, as Harvard University economist Michael
Porter labels it, a technological "cluster effect," one of Illinois?s
problems becomes clear. While a Motorola or Abbott Labs may stand out within
a particular metro area, Illinois has not developed the entrepreneurial-
support companies that provide these technology "clusters.? The advantage of
locating in metropolitan areas can be explained by the economic benefits
gained from locating in proximity to other factors. First, metropolitan
areas provide better air service, telecommunications infrastructure, and
large and diverse labor markets. Second, there are distinct benefits to
high-tech firms of locating in clusters. Clustering of high-tech firms in
the same or similar industries allows companies to interact on a close basis
with suppliers, customers, competitors, and other institutions (including
universities and research institutes).
More importantly, clustering fosters innovation and high-tech firms are
dependent on innovation. Firms in a region can share new ideas and process
innovations, particularly between suppliers and customers. A local milieu
that encourages and facilitates sharing of information between firms-even
competitors-in a region, speeds the innovation process for all firms there.
One way this inter-firm learning takes place is through the exchange of
workers between firms. While companies may not like labor markets with high
turnover, this process does transfer new knowledge and ways of doing things
between firms in a cluster.
Most high-tech development emerges from other high-tech growth. Therefore,
building clusters of high-tech firms is critical to developing a strong
high-tech sector. If an initial group of companies can make it far enough,
they begin to spin off additional firms and attract workers, suppliers, and
other high-tech firms to the region. In this sense, high-tech growth begets
even more high-tech growth.
As these companies take the lead, the local business environment becomes
more attractive for high-tech innovation. Legal firms, accounting firms, and
banks and other financial institutions begin to be versed in what it takes
to help high-tech grow. Universities and community colleges develop the
curricula and technical capacities to support high-tech. And government
creates the quality of life and civic institutions attractive to high-tech
companies and knowledge workers.
Moreover, entrepreneurs are more likely to have higher levels of education,
and as entrepreneurial start-ups become more important to a region's
economic success, having more knowledge workers increases the odds that an
entrepreneurial startup will be successful and turn into a rapidly growing
company.
However, as high-tech manufacturing firms mature, continuous innovation
becomes less important to their survival and they are likely to place
greater emphasis on cost reduction. The focus on lowering costs forces them
to locate in lower cost regions.
Isn?t the state that gave us Paul V Galvin, Cyrus H. McCormick, William
Deering, LaVerne Noyes, John Deere, Archibald Clybourne, Nelson Morris,
Philip Armour, Gustavus Swift, Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, Levi E.
Leiter, Marshall Field, FerdinandSchumacher, George M. Pullman, General
Anson Stager, Richard Robert Donnelley, Emil J. Brach, Louis J. Buffordi,
Samuel Insull, Hugo Olson, and Sol and Henry Crown, capable of producing any
more entrepreneurs? Of course it is . . . under the right circumstances.
Illinois taxes are unfriendly to entrepreneurs. Illinois also has been
losing corporate headquarters at a very fast pace which does nothing for
creating clusters of companies. Recent loses include Wards, Ameritech,
Quaker Oats, Waste Management just to name a few.
Part of the "softness" in entrepreneurship is caused by expectations and
attitudes. After all, California has fairly high taxes. But the Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs, as the studies suggest, have not as of yet come to
view the state capital of Sacramento as the source of their growth. On the
contrary, they focus on frenetic competition, often stealing employees and
technicians from each other, starting new companies at the drop of a hat,
then merging or selling out to a former competitor. Then, they start over
again. Research has identified a sharp difference in attitudes between the
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and the "political entrepreneurs" of
Massachusetts.
The quickest way to change those attitudes is to reduce taxes and eliminate
regulatory burdens so that entrepreneurs? first thoughts are not about
"working" the government system, but out-performing the competition. And it
requires hundreds, if not thousands, of small, entrepreneurial firms to
generate the dynamics now seen in the high-tech growth areas.
For all their market clout, Motorola, Telabs, Abbot Labs and a few others
cannot support high-tech clusters by themselves. If Illinois is to move into
the Information Age, it must get serious about reducing regulation, lowering
taxes, and ending the "dependency mentality" that many regional
entrepreneurs have about government support for their endeavors.
During the great tech boom in the late 1990s, every two-bit town wanted to
be a high-tech two-bit town. Fairfield, Iowa, christened itself "Silicorn
Valley." Perry, Fla., took the moniker "Silicon Swamp."
It seems rather quaint now, but each one wanted just a little of the dot-com
pixie dust that made the real Silicon Valley, outside San Francisco, one of
the wealthiest stretches of land on earth.
So did Illinois, aka Silicon Prairie.
Chicago had high-tech flash, and the economic development types considered
getting a piece of that flash as the way the city could get beyond the
slow-growth, high-unemployment economy that characterized it for decades.
It seemed logical at the time. After all, high-tech firms appeared to be the
best way to explosive economic growth. Of course, the technology economy has
turned out to be not quite so golden. All of which leaves one big question:
How important is digital technology in the development of Illinois?
The answer: Maybe not so much in the near future, but quite a lot in the
long term.
Venture capital investment data is perhaps the best indicator of high-tech
employment; the companies that start small with a few million dollars in
investment cash, a handful of employees and a big idea could one day become
big companies that employ hundreds. Illinois does not rank very high in
providing funding for our entrepreneurs. For there is little or no seed
funding for entrepreneurs in Illinois. Our state treasure recently stated in
public that the venture money she was responsible for would be measured not
on the economic growth it created in Illinois but on its returns in dollars.
This means that the funds can be sent out of Illinois by the Venture Capital
firms as long as the return back to the state is great.
It's pretty clear that the high-tech industries are very important in terms
of being engines of economic growth for the areas in which they are most
prominent. I think they are going to produce a lot of prosperity and
high-paying jobs that will be kind of a cycle. High-paying jobs will attract
more of this kind of industry. It's a reinforcing cycle.
High-tech is not one industry, it is many, and each has different
requirements and locational patterns. For example, biotech is different from
pre-packaged software, which is itself different from telecommunications
equipment. As a result, it would be inappropriate to have a "high-tech
policy." Illinois strategy should grow out of its unique industrial
structure, economic assets and limitations, and business culture. Therefore,
Illinois should develop an in-depth and ongoing understanding of its
economy, including how the major economic sectors work and what Illinois
economic strengths and weaknesses are. Too often, decision makers think that
they already know what's going on and skip this critical stage in the
exuberance to "get on with it." But this is a critical mistake.
Illinois goal should be to "get prosperous." Getting prosperous means
creating higher wage and better jobs, improving quality of life, reducing
poverty, and expanding economic opportunities for all of the states
citizens.
It is no fluke that Silicon Valley and Boston's Route 128 are located close
to world-class research universities. Good research universities are the
fountainhead of the New Economy. But this is especially true if those
universities have good science, engineering, and computer science programs
and have an entrepreneurial-as opposed to purely ivory tower-orientation.
Illinois needs to work to build that.
Business cultures are embedded in larger civic cultures. These civic
cultures vary significantly between different parts of the country. People
talk about the open and friendly Midwesterners; the entrepreneurial Yankees;
the "open-to-anything" Californians. I believe that cultures that do best in
the new economy have the following characteristics: people feel they are in
it together; risk-taking is accepted and even encouraged; people are
encouraged to cross institutional borders; and business, government, and
labor trust one another.
While it is hard to quantify and, in some places, even to identify a
regional culture that does not mean that they aren't real. For example, when
Joint Venture Silicon Valley formed (a public-private civic economic
development organization), one of its stated missions was to overcome a
culture of blame. It is hard for governments to change a region's business
or corporate culture. But they can help the region identify its cultural
strengths and weaknesses. Government can also recognize and celebrate public
and private innovation and support the formation of high-tech business
councils to encourage networking and learning.
Illinois can and should pursue high-tech growth. Succeeding in growing,
expanding, or attracting high-tech employment will raise standards of living
in the region and expand economic opportunity for residents. But doing so
will require difficult political choices to be made: governments need to
commit to an aggressive path of K-12 school reform; work to reengineer
government to lower its costs and improve its quality; enter into real
partnerships with the private sector and others to make and implement
policy; and focus resources and efforts on improving quality of life to make
regions attractive to knowledge workers. The payoffs in the form of more and
better jobs I think make such a course worthwhile.
President
Jerry R. Mitchell
_______________________
4. LINKS OF INTEREST
4a. Softbank Reports $852M Loss for Year
Softbank Reports $852M Loss for Year
Sat May 10, 3:17 PM ET
By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business
TOKYO - Softbank Corp. (news - web sites), which invests in a variety of
electronic commerce, publishing and technology service businesses, reported
a wider loss for the latest fiscal year on a slight rise in sales.
The Internet company lost 99.99 billion yen ($852 million) in the year ended
March 31, versus a loss of 88.8 billion yen a year earlier, the Tokyo-based
company said Friday. Sales inched up 0.5 percent to 406.9 billion yen ($3.5
billion) from 405 billion yen.
Softbank president Masayoshi Son said the results weren't as bad as they
looked as his business outside broadband had become profitable and the worst
of the investment losses he had been forced to take after the burst of the
dot-com bubble were over.
Among other things, Softbank co-owns Yahoo! Japan with Yahoo! of the United
States. Its broadband service offers high-speed voice transmissions over
Internet phone and wireless (news - web sites) local area network links. A
cable TV service is set to start this year.
The service called "Yahoo! Broadband" controls the top market share in this
nation with 2.55 million Internet users.
But Softbank is up against powerful competition including former government
monopoly Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. Rivals are starting even
faster Net-connecting services using optical fiber links.
Softbank has been selling parts of its stakes in companies such as Yahoo!
Japan and Yahoo! of the United States to raise cash for broadband and booked
an extraordinary gain of 134 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in fiscal 2002 for
such sales.
It is also selling its stake in Aozora Bank of Japan to the U.S. investmnet
fund Cerberus although that is awaiting approval from government
authorities.
Its latest results included a charge of 96 billion yen ($818 million) on
investment losses but that was an improvement from a charge of 178 billion
yen in fiscal 2001.
Son refused to give forecasts for this year and would not say when his
broadband business was going to turn profitable. He said he is hoping to
attract 4 million users by March 2004.
Although the "backbone" investments for broadband are completed, money is
still being spent luring users with free trial services and other campaigns,
costing about 35,000 yen ($300) per person, Son said.
But revenue is gradually growing, now averaging 4,000 yen ($34) a person a
month, he said.
If the business stopped trying to grow, it can easily turn a profit of 40
billion yen ($341 million) at 3 million users, said Son, who founded
Softbank in 1981.
Broadband holds great potential in Japan possibly reaching 30 million users,
he told reporters.
_____________________
4b. Avocent buys Tellabs' former plant in Ireland
Avocent buys Tellabs' former plant in Ireland
By Stephanie Gordon
EE Times
8 May 2003 (1:33 p.m. GMT)
U.S network technology firm, Avocent has bought the former Tellabs facility
in Shannon, Ireland for $6.5m, as part of its strategy to strengthen its
international headquarters in Ireland. Tellabs closed the facility in
September last year with the loss of 400 jobs. The company said it could no
longer sustain the losses brought on by the global downturn.
At the company's first ever Board meeting outside the U.S, Avocent
executives confirmed the purchase as part of a strategy strengthen their
operations in Ireland. The Tellabs facility is twice the size of Avocent's
current Shannon facility, where it employs 100 people. Avocent said it would
continue to expand its operations, and is expecting to increase employment
by around 20 percent over three years, depending on global market
conditions.
?We are delighted to announce Avocent's acquisition of this facility? said
John Cooper, chairman, president and CEO of Avocent. ?It is a significant
development which further underpins our investments and achievements in
Ireland to date.?
Avocent set up its Shannon operation in 1996 and is its largest facility
outside its corporate headquarters in Alabama, U.S. The company generated
$260m in sales globally in 2002 with 35 percent of these managed and shipped
through the Shannon facility.
_________________
4c. Biopharma Firm APT Therapeutics Names Eric Leire as CEO
Biopharma Firm APT Therapeutics Names Eric Leire as CEO
ST. LOUIS -- APT Therapeutics, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company
that uses computer-aided drug discovery engines for accelerated development,
said it has named Eric J. Leire as CEO. He will also join the company's
board of directors.
Dr. Leire previously served as a partner in the Boston office of
bioStrategies Group, a consultancy. His 15 years of pharmaceutical
experience includes roles at Pharmacia France and Schering Plough France. He
has also served as marketing director for Boots Pharma France and with
Pfizer as a division director.
APT Therapeutics, founded in 2001, has raised $1.6 million in funding to
date from Prolog Ventures and CID Equity.
The company said it is in the process of raising an additional $800,000
Series A Equity investment required to finance the in vivo validation of its
protein therapeutic candidate for stroke.
___________________
4d. BancBoston to sell restaurant chains
BancBoston to sell restaurant chains
by Josh Kosman and Kelly Holman
Updated 07:12 AM EST, May-8-2003
Wind Point Partners is close to a deal to buy Vicorp Restaurants Inc.,
which owns the Village Inn and Bakers Square chains, from BancBoston
Capital.
BancBoston Capital Inc., the private equity arm of FleetBoston Financial
Corp., has also put its Papa Gino's chain on the block as the parent pares
its $3.4 billion private equity portfolio. BancBoston Capital has been one
of the most active private equity players in the restaurant industry, partly
because of the bank's restaurant finance team.
"We made a good bet on restaurants a few years ago and are pursuing some
exit strategies," a FleetBoston spokeswoman said, declining to give
specifics. The Wind Point partner leading the deal team did not return
calls.
Wind Point, a Southfield, Mich.- and Chicago-based private equity firm, is
nearing a deal to buy Denver-based Vicorp in a roughly $225 million
leveraged buyout, sources said. Vicorp owns more than 200 Village Inns and
150 Bakers Squares, which have been described as upgraded coffee houses.
BancBoston and Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison Inc. bought the chain in May
2001 for $174 million. Goldner Hawn will likely sell its stake, too, in the
LBO, sources said.
Wind Point is valuing the business at about 5 times its $46 million in
Ebitda, a source said.
At the same time, BancBoston Capital is offering Papa Gino's Holdings Corp.,
the Dedham, Mass.-based quick service pizza and submarine sandwich chain.
The sellers, which include co-investors Berkshire Partners LLC and McCown De
Leeuw & Co., hope to attract more than $100 million, or 6 times Ebitda, a
source said. The Papa Gino's auction started about four weeks ago, sources
said. The bank has been shopping the Vicorp stake since late last year.
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. has handled both sales.
Starting a year ago, FleetFinancial began downsizing its private equity
portfolio, which includes both direct investments and commitment to other
private equity funds, from $3.6 billion to $2.5 billion over the next few
years. Since then, it has reduced its exposure by 6% to $3.4 billion, the
FleetBoston spokeswoman said. The bank continues to like private equity, she
added, and only wants to adjust the risks in its portfolio.
A source believes the restaurant chains have fared well in the sluggish
economy and likely would make some of the best disposal candidates. Papa
Gino's may be more attractive than the Vicorp properties to financial
sponsors because Papa Gino's growth prospects are better, particularly on
the sandwich side of its business.
The sales will not mean BancBoston Capital will exit the restaurant sector.
It still owns stakes in Acapulco Acquisition Corp., owner of the second
largest Mexican restaurant chain in Southern California; California Pizza
Kitchen Inc.; Marie Callender's; and Sydran Group Inc., the third largest
franchisee of Burger King and Chili's restaurants.
___________________
4e. Investors angry over Flip's flops by Julie Johnsson and a response by Ron May
May 10, 2003
Investors angry over Flip's flops
By Julie Johnsson
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=8803
The first time Andrew ?Flip? Filipowski lost a company, his ouster played
out as farce. When an estranged business partner appeared at
Naperville-based DBMS Inc. on a March morning in 1987 with armed security
guards to eject Mr. Filipowski from the premises, the habitually tardy CEO
hadn?t arrived yet.
?They had to summon him from home so they could escort him out,? recalls
Richard Reck, a former financial adviser to Mr. Filipowski.
Comic relief is notably absent from the iconoclastic entrepreneur?s latest
misadventure, the collapse of Chicago-based
Internet-incubator-turned-software-industry-roll-up-vehicle Divine Inc.
Bankruptcy Court proceedings in Boston have parceled out what remains of
Divine in an auction that pointedly excluded Mr. Filipowski from the
bidding.
A more striking difference this time around is the scope of collateral
damage and the difficulty Mr. Filipowski will face mounting another
comeback.
Mr. Filipowski left DBMS as a relative unknown with one embittered
ex-partner.
Little stood in his way as he quickly re-established his software business,
launching Platinum Technology Inc. a month later with a workforce of 20
programmers hired away from DBMS. He soon took Platinum public and sold it a
decade later in a $3.6-billion deal that netted him $200 million and set the
stage for Divine.
Divine?s collapse, by contrast, was one of the most spectacular flameouts of
the dot.com era, reverberating throughout the private- and public-equity
markets and scorching the highest levels of Chicago?s financial elite as it
vaporized $1 billion in investors? money.
Mr. Filipowski strained, and in some cases snapped, relations with longtime
supporters he once counted on to finance his ventures.
?He?s burned a lot of bridges,? says Mark Tebbe, a former Divine director
and investor.
Also working against Mr. Filipowski as he ponders his next move is the
reputation he earned at Divine and Platinum for enriching himself while
public shareholders earned subpar returns. Adding more tarnish to his résumé
is the grand jury investigation of certain transactions involving a Divine
subsidiary.
Mr. Filipowski didn?t return calls seeking comment for this article, but
friends say the 52-year-old is already mulling his next venture, probably a
software company. He likely will base future operations in North Carolina,
where he has lived in recent years and where he co-owns a minor league
baseball team and runs a publicly traded propane gas company, Blue Rhino
Corp., with his brother-in-law, Billy D. Prim.
Mr. Filipowski will bring considerable strengths to any new enterprise. He
still has a huge fortune and the charisma to captivate a roomful of
prospective investors. Indeed, a core of loyalists stands ready to back the
ponytailed college dropout in whatever he might undertake.
?I consider Flip to be an outstanding individual and if he needs me for
support, I?m there for him,? says Craig Duchossois, president of
Elmhurst-based Duchossois Industries Inc. An early investor in Platinum and
Divine, Mr. Duchossois has served as a director on all four publicly traded
companies founded by Mr. Filipowski.
_________________
Ron May here. Julie, the purpose of this article is what? First, there was absolutely no news here. Second, it was a front page story?! Why? Third, I am surprised by the personal swipes here. What on earth does Flip's hair style or formal education level have to do with anything? I know for a fact that the guy is working at 3am, so what difference does his arrival time in the office make from sixteen years ago? You tell us that Flip has lost a lot of friends, yet only one, a Crain's regular, Mark Tebbe, who was never heavily invested in Divine anyway, is on the record. So what is the point of your article other than innuendo and telling old war stories about Ray Navarra, whom you never even bother to name. I have had some growing respect lately for your real reporting on Divine, but with this one you are back to your old ways. There is no news here.
Name the people who have a problem with Flip or don't write it, or at least say that you talked to five people who did not want to be named who put in from $X to $Y. I have my issues too with how Divine was run, but unless you can say something concrete on the investor side, keep quiet. Almost all of the complaints about Flip in TMR have come from the employee side, The investors have been publicly quiet.
Flip may not be a "thought leader" or an intellectual, but he has probably read more books than most journalists writing about him on history, technology, the history of technology and subjects like sociobiology. Julie, I know I personally cross the line sometimes because Flip is a character as well as being a prominent entrepreneur, but there is no need to get personal. The problem the investors have is that he did not deliver, or "bring home the bacon" as a former colleague of yours, Asenio Oloroso, once told me he did.
A more fundamental point is that Flip was not the problem at Divine, as a very keen observer and former insider has made clear to me today. Paul Humenansky was the problem. The problem was in execution, and while Flip may be lacking in some ethical areas, the basic problem there was management, not lack of vision. More on this later.
_____________________
5. OTHER (Events)
5a. Saturday, May 17: Assoc. of Chinese Scientists and Engineers: 2003 Spring Event
ACSE 2003 Spring Event
Saturday, May 17, 2003
Oakton Community College, 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
12:00 - 1:00pm Registration and social. (Drink and refreshment provided)
Admissions: Free for ACSE members and $5 for others
General Session (1:00pm - 2:00pm, Room# 1606-1608)
Session Chair: Dr. Wenqi Luan, Vice President and Secretary General
1:00pm Opening Remarks
1:05pm President Speech, Mr. Steve He ACSE 2002-2003 President
1:10pm Mr. Jinzhong Xu, Speech, Consul General of the People's Republic of
China in Chicago
1:35pm Mr. Jerry R. Mitchell, President, Jerry R.Mitchell and Associates
Inc. and The Midwest
Entrepreneurs Forum
2:00-2:15pm Break
Breakout Sessions (2:15-5:15pm)
Session 1: Insider?s Guide for Job Applications (Room# 1625)
* Dr. Wang Tingxiu: Teaching Career at community colleges
* Dr. Ye Ling: From a good resume to a successful interview
* Rico de Lara: Evolution, the Professionals in the Global World of
Outsourcing - how IT professional can benefit from this trend.
Session 2: Starting Your Own Business (Room# 1603)
Jerry R. Mitchell President Jerry R. Mitchell and Associates, William
Alexander Price Attorney at Law and Adjunct Professor, High Technology
Entrepreneurship Illinois Institute of Technology: In the current gloomy US
economy situation and waves of corporate lay-off, starting your own business
maybe an option you want to think about. How to get started?
Session 3: How to Develop Your Network (Room# 1605)
Richard Landman, President Diamond Management Group, Ltd. Helen Yang, Asian
Business Company Inc.To develop a network is now more critical than ever for
your career endeavor in the US. How to develop the network?
Session 4: Cooperation between US-China Automobile Industries
Opportunities and Challenges (Room# 1607)
Session Chair: Dr. Zhu Yuanxian
Dr. Liu Li and Yang Bo et al: Based on their own experience working in the
US auto industries and their recent trips to China, the speakers are
convinced that Chinese engineers and professionals have great career
opportunities to face the challenges.
Abstract of the Presentation
I. From a good resume to a successful interview
Ye Ling, Ph.D. Sr. Group Leader Abbott Laboratories
As a hiring manager at Abbott, Dr. Ye has interviewed many candidates for
the openings in her department.
In this interactive presentation, Dr. Ye will present the strategies of how
to write an eye-catching resume and utilize the interview opportunity to get
the job you want. Following the presentation, there will be mock up
interviews to further illustrate the key points. The mock up interviews
will use behavioral based interview process and be conducted openly for
group learning. Each interview will be followed by a debrief to discuss the
"Dos and Don'ts". Please submit your resume (either real or not) to the
Session Chair for the practice opportunity. The first three people who
submitted the resume will get the opportunity.
II. Teaching Career at Community Colleges
Wang Tingxiu, Ph.D, Professor of Mathematics at Oakton Community College
In the past five years, Dr. Wang has been on the screening committee of the
math department at Oakton Community College. Dr. Wang was a member of the
negotiation team of Oakton Faculty Association in 1998. His presentation
will cover job application from writing a resume to negotiating salaries.
III. Evolution - The Professional in the Global World of Outsourcing
Mr. Rico de Lara, Customer Experience Analyst
Human Resources Outsourcing - Hewitt Associates
In the current business economy, many companies are cutting costs at a
feverish pace. These cost cuts are often the professional in IT and Human
Resources. Learn how outsourcing and the global economy has effected both
professions and how you can benefit from this global trend.
Rico de Lara is responsible for ensuring a quality user experience through
the proper design and testing of HR portals for Fortune 500 clients. In his
tenure as an IT consultant, his focus has been on web based knowledge
management and customer relationship management systems. With a global
focus, his clients include Mercedes Benz, Compaq, Alcatel, Accenture,
Johnson and Johnson and Baylor Healthcare Systems.
IV. Coorperation between US-China Automobile Industries Opportunities and
Challenges
* Liu Li, Ph.D. Ford Motor Company, President of Detroit Chinese Business
Association
Brief Review of the ?China Automotive Supplier Expo? in October 2002 in
Detroit and updates of the automotive industry in China.
* Mr. Yang Bo. Navistar International Corporation - Studies of Passenger
Car Market and the Perspectives of the Booming Chinese Auto Industry
The speaker will cover China passenger car market overview, structural
reorganization of Chinese auto industry, auto sourcing business, and the
opportunities for U.S. and Chinese companies in the booming Chinese auto
industry.
V. Starting Your Own Business
* Bill Price, Attorney at Law and Adjunct Professor, High Technology
Entrepreneurship Illinois Institute of Technology
* Jerry R. Mitchell, President of Jerry R. Mitchell and Associates Inc.
The belief that stable jobs would deliver steadily improving living
standards has long been one of the major cycles of the American dream. But
today a queasy sense of insecurity haunts many working people. From neatly
coifed executives to aproned production workers, once secure futures now
seem threatened. Wave after wave of corporate restructurings has knocked
away the underpinnings of career- long employment that sustained workers'
confidence in their future.
There are estimates that of the eight jobs Americans can expect to hold over
the course of their working lives, half will terminate involuntarily.
Companies no longer offer people careers. People create their own careers. .
The old career paradigm of signing on to a job right out of school and
climbing a corporate ladder until retirement is no longer appropriate.
Today, two diverse forces are stimulating entrepreneurial dreams as never
before. First, the trend toward downsizing and payroll cutting in the face
of increasing intense competitive pressures has made entrepreneurship an
appealing career choice to many middle management executives and engineers
who's jobs have been abolished or are in jeopardy.
Secondly, governmental efforts to encourage new business formations through
technology transfer and other strategies has created a situation in which
there may be more incentives than ever before for high tech start-ups. All
the government effort in technology conversion and commercialization is
giving entrepreneurship a real boost.
There is only one way today to start a new business. It involves
bootstrapping a company from scratch or with minimal capital. Starting with
little more than good ideas and technical competence, entrepreneurs
following the bootstrapping method have built sound businesses. Operating
with formal plans for growing their company they have done well and enj6y
their lifestyle and even more importantly, they have realized a dream of
running their own show.
Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Price have developed a course to teach entrepreneurs
how to bootstrap their company, which will be offered at Illinois Institute
of Technology starting in September.
Learn from them how to start a new business or grow your existing business.
VI. How to Develop Your Network
* Richard Landman, President Diamond Management Group, Ltd.
* Helen Yang, Asian Business Company Inc.
Net-work-ing: interacting with others informally for mutual support Merriam
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
Why Should You Network? Who should you network with?
Networking is a powerful way of building professional relationships. It is a
process of actively fostering contacts and creating ways to disseminate
information. We believe in order to be successful entrepreneurs need a
support network that incorporates advice from peers, experienced mentors,
and access to valuable contacts and resources.
If you say, "I wish I could get more contacts when I network," or, "I go to
networking events, but I don't get many new contacts," it means you're not
following the fundamental rules.
Learn how to network smart so you get the right results.
Richard Landman is a professional recruiter who uses networking in his
profession to develop relationships with both hiring companies as well as
applicants. He also teaches others how to network.
Helen Yang will discuss her own experiences of coming to the United States
from China and the ways she grew her business through networking with both
people from her country as well as new friends she made in her new country.
She will explain the importance of both.
___________________
5b. Thursday, May 22: iBio Venture Capital panel
From: Rosenmichaels@aol.com
Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 13:35:11 EDT
Subject: (no subject)
To: ron@themayreport.com
Come here about the world of biotech financing in Illinois at IBIO's " BREAKFAST WITH THE VENTURE CAPITALISTS" on Thursday, May 22, 2003 : 8am -10am at Northwestern University's Allen Center ( Tribune Auditorium) in Evanston ( 2001 Sheridan Rd.). Featuring leading Illinois and Wisconsin VC's: Vector Fund Management, Essex Woodland Health Ventures, Arch Development Partners, Mason Wells, Baird Venture Partners. Organized by the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Kellogg Biotechnology Center of Northwestern University. For further information: contact IBIO at 312-201-4519 or register online at: www.ibio.org. Includes continental breakfast!
Michael S. Rosen
Vice-Chairman, Human Health
Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization
("IBIO")
tel: 847-235-1810
_____________________
5c. Friday and Saturday, May 16-17: TiE Conference in Santa Clara, California
Subj: World's Largest Entrepreneurial Conference
Date: 5/8/2003 5:27:19 PM Central Daylight Time
From: TiEMW_Admin@123signup9.com (TiE Midwest)
To: ronaldmay@aol.com (Ronald May May)
Dear Ronald May,
TiEcon 2003 - This year's best opportunity to be inspired and informed by industry visionaries and business leaders. Our pre-eminent speakers include:
Irwin Mark Jacobs, Co-founder,Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm
Steve Young, Former Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers,Social Entrepreneur
Jayshree Ullal, Sr. VP and GM, Optical Networking Group, Cisco
Don Valentine, Founder, Sequoia Capital,Chairman, Network Appliance and C-Cube Microsystems
Jim Swartz, Accel Partners
Robert Yung, CTO Intel China
*******************
Meet thousands of successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, industry leaders and venture capitalists and learn about the latest trends and opportunities in the marketplace. Over 120 speakers will be featured in 25 high-powered panel discussions.
Discover insights into all stages of corporate evolution - from inception to success.
Participate in discussions about the future of twelve business "ecosystems' from wireless and security to nanotechnology and life sciences.
Explore the latest products from over 100 showcase companies.
At the conclusion of the conference, indulge your senses in an elegant evening banquet featuring fashion, dance and comedy entertainment.
Act Now
Attendance at TiEcon 2003 is by advance registration only
Conference and Showcase
TiE MEMBERS: $295
NON-MEMBERS: $395
STUDENTS: $150
Register now at www.tiecon.org
Over 2,500 people are expected to attend, and TiEcon 2003 will be sold out... so register now!
Online registration at www.tiecon.org or by phone at (408) 567-0777.
The Westin Hotel and Conference Center, Santa Clara, May 16-17, 2003
Internal Reference No: 1830154840513742176919100
Powered by http://www.123signup.com||chr(13)||chr(10)||Online Membership Management and Event Registration
____________________
5d. Thursday, June 5: SMEI Chicago: Office Depot Marketing Chief speaks
From: Philip Anast <philip.anast@TECHIMAGE.COM>
To: 'Ron May' <ron@themayreport.com>
Subject: Office Depot Marketing Chief speaks at SMEI Chicago on June 5
Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 10:58:15 -0500
Media Advisory
Event name:
"How to build customer loyalty and brand differentiation," featuring Jocelyn
Carter-Miller, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Office
Depot
Hosted by: SMEI Chicago
When: 5-8 p.m., Thursday, June 5, 2003
Address: Gibson's Steakhouse, 5464 N. River Road, Rosemont
Cost: $45 advance (for SMEI members), $65 advance for non-members
(additional $10 at the door). Dinner will be served from 6 p.m. until 6:45
p.m.
To purchase tickets: Phone 708-447-3778 or email smecxx@wans.net
Description of Event:
The office supplies industry is highly fragmented with only 10 percent
market share held by the top three brand names - Office Depot, Office Max,
and Staples. What is Office Depot's brand marketing strategy, and how does
it differentiate itself from its competitors? Hear about the Office Depot
growth story, which began 16 years ago and now is an $11 billion company.
Jocelyn Carter-Miller is executive vice president and chief marketing
officer for Office Depot, overseeing all strategic, operational and
financial aspects of the company's multi-channel marketing programs,
advertising, direct mail, and other special marketing initiatives.
Carter-Miller holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in
accounting from the University of Illinois. She is a CPA. She also has
co-authored a book entitled, "Networlding: Building Relationships and
Opportunities for Success," published by Jossey-Bass.
About SMEI Chicago:
SMEI Chicago is a chapter of Sales and Marketing Executives International
(SMEI). Founded in 1935, SMEI is the only worldwide knowledge-growth and
relationship-building forum created for sales and marketing executives.
Since no other worldwide executive sales and marketing associations exist,
SMEI fills a void by providing a personal and professional community devoted
to providing knowledge, growth, leadership and connections between peers in
both sales and marketing. With over 50 affiliate chapters around the world,
members benefit from both the strength of an international organization and
the resources that a local chapter provides through ongoing seminars,
lectures and networking opportunities.
Media contact:
Philip Anast, Account Manager, Tech Image Ltd. (For SMEI Chicago)
How to contact: philip.anast@techimage.com, 847.632.0040, ext. 238
_________________
The May Report
Ron May: editor, reporter, commentator, and publisher.
773-525-3944
For personal & confidential: 312-670-6336
E-mails for Ron: ron@themayreport.com. Unless otherwise requested by the
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To unsubscribe from the free newsletter, go to www.themayreport.com, click
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_________________
END OF REPORT. |
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