7th Annual Conference List of Speakers with synopsis

Type

Speaker

Topic

Synopsis

Keynote

Vicki Keith
Founder Y Knot Abilities Programs

Penguins Can Fly

Vicki Keith takes you on the journey which led her to the top of the marathon swimming world. She reveals the lessons she learned through this process as well as sharing some stories of the challenges faced by the athletes whom she coaches. Her marathon account of hallucinations, exhaustion, sharks and jelly fish will leave you in awe. The success stories of the young people whom she coaches will help everyone begin to understand that with a positive attitude and sheer determination, anything is possible.

Break out Session

Tim Dewey
President & CEO
VIRTUAL Support Options

Aligning Support with the Business: The VIRTUAL Support Center

As your company continues to face the economic challenges of 2009 it is time to deal with the reality of our new economy and its impact on support. Join us for collaborative discussions on how we can enable you to achieve success and thrive in these economic conditions by utilizing an increasingly strategic model for support, the VIRTUAL Support Center.

Break out Session

Nick de Jong
President
Service Minds Inc

Customer Centricity: Avoiding the Outsourcer

With the focus on reduced cost, CFOs are once again questioning the cost of an in house support desk. Customer Centricity can make the desk irreplaceable.

Break out Session

Andrew Peek - FreshBooks

Closing The Conversation Gap

We get it. Facebook is in. LinkedIn is a necessary evil. Digging is cool. What the heck is a Twitter? As “2.0” pushes its way into every conversation, how do we separate the signal from the noise?
This session is about being remarkable in everything you do. From Aksimet to ZeFrank.
Not for the faint of heart, Andrew will dispel the notion that people can be pushed from one touch point to the next. Beginning with the roots of permission marketing, he will speak to the right mix required to build relationships, influence behavior, and execute ideas that get talked about in an age of truly “social” media.

With the focus on reduced cost, CFOs are once again questioning the cost of an in house support desk. Customer Centricity can make the desk irreplaceable.

Break out Session

Jill Donahue -
Principal, Excellerate

PERSUASION Rx: How to Influence People

Influence others more effectively and avoid the biggest mistakes most people make.

The art and science of influence and persuasion is underutilized and misunderstood but more essential now than ever before. These principles can be learned and applied by anyone who knows enough to look for them and is motivated to get better results.

In this interactive workshop we will:
Determine some truths and myths about influencing.  Identify to what extent you make the biggest mistake in your attempts to influence
Enable you with new ideas to increase your ability to influence.

Break out Session

Nick de Jong – President
Service Minds Inc.

Workshop: Ontario in the Creative Age: What do we have to do?

The report Ontario in the Creative Age chartered by the Ontario Government and created by the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto clearly calls for a specific set of skills required to be effective in the “creative age”.

Most new work place opportunities will be creativity oriented and require analytical and social interaction skills like understanding, collaborating with, and managing other people, negotiation, selling, and teamwork. Higher salary and opportunity will be in areas requiring these analytical and social skills.
Are there ways to acquire and hone these skills? Yes there are!

Break out Session

ThinkITSM Speakers:
Michael Oas (VP of Definition)
Angie Massicotte (VP of Measurement)
Maria Ritchie (VP of Achievement)

ThinkITSM session

"Service Desk Salvation - Visibility & Value!"

In these dark economic times, don't hide - shine! 

You need to expose your Service Desk for what it truly is, or should be, a guiding light for value in your organization.

Attend this session to understand how clearly defined desired outcomes expose necessary improvements to drive value from your Service Desk.  Selecting key performance indicators, monitoring their progress and ensuring visibility of results is a must. 

This session will demonstrate how selected outcomes can be traced through to performance results, providing you with real life examples and a Value and Visibility Toolkit to take back and get started.

Don't just be "valuable" be "visibly valuable".

Break out Session

Expert Panel

Moderator for a Panel Session: Ask the Experts

A panel of experts in the Support Services Industry will be available for the attendees to ask questions related to ITIL, Certifications and Training, Tools, Management and more.

Break out Session

Brenda Iniguez – Front Range
Americas Service Management Director

“Can True RCA (Root Cause Analysis) Increase the Bottom line?”

This session will teach and review not only the ITIL best practices of doing true Root Cause Analysis (RCA) but also will look at some of the nuances and finesse tips for doing it as well.   It will examine who beyond the formal Problem Management team should have an interest or a role in RCA, as well as who should see the RCA results … how high should these be published in an organization?   And finally this session will look at several dollar equation examples where effective RCA can and has positively affected organizations’ bottom line.

Break out Session

Sam Martino (TD Bank)

Harmonizing our Desk Side and Help Desk organizations.

TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG) is winner of numerous customer service awards.  TD has a mix of internal and externally supported users arising from its heritage. As a result of these unique market conditions we find ourselves in; TDBFG is taking advantage of the downturn and using it as an opportunity to develop a strategy to harmonize their Desk Side and Help Desk organizations and implement the best of breed across the bank.

This presentation will cover the broad experiences of what has worked well and what things we need to improve within TDBFG as the Infrastructure group continues to support its employees in their drive for superior customer service. The strategy work and subsequent remediation and standardization will be an imperative to meet TD’s drive to be the 'Better Bank.'

Closing Keynote

Phil Gerbyshak – the Relationship Geek

Recession Proof Your Life: Make a PLAN and Make It Great!

Driven to bring results to your business, Phil has developed an enlightening and stimulating PLAN for business people and entrepreneurs looking to watch their dreams take off. This distinctive method of pushing beyond your barriers has helped countless people live their lives with passion and focus. Phil has a charming and delightful personality, which brings warmth and personal interaction with his audience. When Phil speaks with your organization, you will feel as though he was chatting with you one-on-one.