“Winning Hand” Event Offers Insight and Inspiration

Automotive Conference for Executives

April 17 and 18, 2007 * Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ont.

The Automotive Industries Association of Canada’s Automotive Conference for Executives (ACE) promises once again to provide insightful presentations on business, the world, and on professional life.

“A Winning Hand – The 2007 Aftermarket Conference for Executives” will focus on professional development with an overview of business trends for automotive aftermarket executives and high-level managers.

Key among the speakers is former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.

Harris, born in Toronto in 1945 but raised in Callander and North Bay, Ont., rose to prominence in 1995 when he was elected Premier of Ontario. His controversial policies on government spending continue to affect the agenda in the province, and the country, even following his departure from office in 2002 and the subsequent fall of the Progressive Conservative government.

Harris now serves as a director and consultant for a raft of organizations in business and charity. He is also a senior fellow of the Fraser Institute, a right-wing political think tank.

At the ACE event, Harris’ presentation is entitled “A Canada Strong and Free” and is based on a series of papers authored by Harris and Preston Manning for The Fraser Institute. “A Canada Strong and Free” offers a vision for a revitalized and rebalanced Canada based on sound principles and fact-based research. The proposals outlined in this presentation are designed to improve Canada’s global competitiveness and offer Canadian citizens the highest quality of life and economic performance.

John Pliniussen is Canada’s customer relationship guru and the most-quoted sales expert in the national media for the past three years. Pliniussen was director of e-business programs at Queen’s School of Business and is now director of business consulting there. Pliniussen’s talk, “The New CRM: Customer Relationship Measure-ment,” will review the surprising results of his research into the three hallmarks of cost-effective CRM. These results are part of his upcoming book where he explains the two simple changes small-medium enterprise owners and managers need to make to turn their customer relationship practices from “state-of-the-ark” to state-of-the-art.

John Ibbitson is among the most respected voices in political journalism today. His well-informed and wide-reaching commentary makes him a pundit whose opinion matters. He has authored two books on Ontario politics: “Promised Land: Inside the Mike Harris Revolution” and “Loyal No More: Ontario’s Struggle for a Separate Destiny.” He is currently the political affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail. He will discuss how what happens in Ottawa affects your business.

Dr. Brian R. Little holds joint appointments at Harvard and Carleton University. At Carleton he is distinguished research professor emeritus, and at Harvard he lectures in the Department of Psychology. He received his early education in British Columbia and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Little has taught with distinction at Oxford, Carleton and Harvard Universities, having been awarded the 3M Fellowship, Canada’s highest award for university teaching. He was also the first recipient of the Royal Bank Faculty Fellowship in University Teaching at McGill University.

Described by a client as a cross between Robin Williams and Einstein, Dr. Little has also been called one of the funniest speakers on the planet and one of the most respected. Believing that a prime function of scholarly research is to have an impact beyond the university, Dr. Little has given well over five hundred keynote presentations to groups around the world.

Dr. Little’s presentation is on “Achieving Success in A Competitive Environment.”

Drawing on contemporary research into physical and emotional health, he outlines practical strategies to help you and your team achieve success and deal with the stresses of life in a competitive environment. The issues he addresses in his funny, upbeat presentation include:

* Challenging some common myths about stress, poor communication, and personality clashes, and the ways they affect your workplace

* How to combine professionalism with innovative leadership styles

* How perceived control affects people’s behaviour

* The latest insights into “Type A” personalities

* Managing anger and aggression in the workplace

* Building the most productive relationship with your clients

Doug Keeley, CEO and Chief Storyteller of The Mark of a Leader, is one of North America’s leading communicators, and a self-professed “leadership junkie.” His new program, The Mark of a Leader, is inspiring corporate workforces across North America to improved performance.

Keeley will bring inspiring stories from the world’s greatest leaders, teams, and brands to the conference industry to attendees throughout the day’s proceedings. Using a pioneering technique called Digital Storytelling, The Mark of a Leader uses a live narrator with video and original music to create a powerful multimedia experience. The stories are designed to inspire, make you think, move you, and cause you to take action.

The unique story format also offers a new way to structure an agenda, and provides the basis for an ongoing communication program to drive the messages and impact over time.

For more information, or to register for the Automotive Conference for Executives, log on to www.aiacanada.com, e-mail Deborah Moynes-Keshen at deborah.moynes-keshen@aiacanada.com, or call 800-808-2920 ext 223.

ACE Schedule At A Glance

Tuesday, April 17

5:30-7:30Reception

Wednesday, April 18

7:30-8:30Breakfast

8:30-8:45Opening Remarks and Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

8:45-9:00 Distinguished Service Award Presentation

9:00-10:00Mike Harris, “A Canada Strong and Free”

10: 00-10:30Break

10:30-10:40Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

10:40-11:40Dr. Brian Little, “Achieving Success in a Competitive Environment”

11:40-11:50Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

1:40-2:40John Ibbitson, “How Ottawa Affects Your Business”

2:40-2:45Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

2:45-3:15Break

3:15-3:20Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

3:20-4:20Dr. John Pliniussen, “The New CRM: Customer Relationship Management”

4:20-4:25Doug Keeley, “Mark of a Leader”

4:25-4:30Closing Remarks