Register for the June 20, 2002 5-8:30 pm presentation at the UTD Conference Center
$35 donation at the door, $10 for Students RSVP 972-377-4554 or mitforum@juno.com
Networking Reception with Light Buffet 5:00 pm    Program 7 pm

CASHING OUT SUCCESSFULLY:
EXIT STRATEGIES TO CAPTURE VALUE

Dallas-Fort Worth Moderator:

• David Kohl, VP, Roach Howard Smith & Hunter

Cambridge Moderator: 

• Mark Borden, Corporate Department Chair of the Boston office of Hale and Dorr

DFW Panelist:

• Mr. Rene Larrave, most recently President, CEO, and Founder of Tactica

Cambridge Panelists:

• Chip Linnemann, Vice President, Goldman, Sachs & Co.; 

• Paul Maeder, Partner, Highland Capital Partners; 

• Jeffrey McCormick, Chairman & CEO, Saturn Management, LLC; 

• James Nicholson, Chairman & CEO, Cortek, Inc.

Program:

Rene Larrave, president of Dallas-based Tactica, will head the speaker list for the June 20 program for the MIT Enterprise Forum of Dallas-Fort Worth, Inc. The program will be a panel discussion on how entrepreneurs and business owners can cash out successfully after they have built their companies.

MIT Enterprise Forum of Dallas - Fort Worth Chairman Neil Kaden said, "As DFW entrepreneurs and investors reach a stage where they want to capture the value they have realized in their company, the question becomes: 'how can we cash out successfully?'  Since this question is being asked globally, the MIT Enterprise Forum at UTD will be able to view a program developed for 30 sites globally that was originally satellite simulcast on April 16, 2002 -- with local live speakers, and a two-hour (extra long) networking session.

The program will provide information and education to both start-up and seasoned entrepreneurs, and other parties involved in activities surrounding new business ventures. The format includes an in-person, live presentation by Mr. Larrave, who will share his experiences in cashing out of Tactica. The program will include an overview of cashing out, exploration of the topic by successful entrepreneurs and experts, and an interactive discussion with the audience.

Recently, Tactica has been acquired by Experio Solutions (NYSE: HIT), Hitachi, Ltd.’s entry into the global information technology consulting services arena.. Mr. Larrave will share first-hand information on Tactica’s cashing out situation. Tactica, a management and technology consulting company, was named one of America’s entrepreneurial growth leaders by Inc magazine, which ranked Tactica 80th of the Inc 500.

The experts and successful entrepreneurs, except for Mr. Larrave, will be assembled by the headquarters of the MIT Enterprise Forum in Cambridge, Massachusetts will complement Mr. Larrave’s live presentation. The Cambridge portion of the program will be on videotape. The moderator for the June 20th MIT Forum will be David Kohl, vice president of Roach Howard Smith & Hunter, and vice president of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Dallas-Fort Worth, Inc.

MIT Enterprise Forum CEO Edmond Dunn said, "As an entrepreneur you may plan to stay with your company for years and have minimal, immediate concerns about liquidity for yourself.  However, your investors only get paid if they can get their money out of their investments.  To be successful, the company needs to be run so that the needs of everyone concerned are met."

Registration: $35 donation at the door, $10 students. For reservations and details of this special program,  call Mary Langford at 972-377-4554, or email to mitforum@juno.com

BIOS:

DFW Moderator: David Kohl (bio soon)

Cambridge Moderator:  Mark Borden chairs Hale and Dorr's Corporate Department, concentrating primarily in the areas of securities law, corporate finance and acquisitions. With over 25 years of experience in representing public companies. Mr. Borden's clients include Analog Devices, Avid Technology, CMGI, Engage, ePresence, EXE Technologies, Idexx Laboratories, MapInfo, MKS Instruments, NaviSite, Sepracor, Staples, Student Advantage and BJ's Wholesale Club. Mr. Borden has represented companies and underwriters in over 100 public offerings. Underwriters that he has represented include Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

In the acquisitions area, Mr. Borden has extensive experience both in structuring acquisitions and in designing defenses against unsolicited takeovers. Mr. Borden represented Staples in its acquisition of Quill; CMGI in its acquisitions of AltaVista, Flycast, AdForce and UBid; Wellfleet Communications in its merger with SynOptics Communications, Inc.; The Learning Company in its acquisition by Mattel; Genetics Institute in its acquisition by American Home Products; Avid Technology in its acquisition of Softimage; Calgene Inc. in its acquisition by Monsanto; Shiva in its acquisition by Intel; and Redstone Communications and Castle Networks in their acquisitions by Siemens.

Mr. Borden is co-author of Start-up Companies - Planning, Financing and Operating the Successful Business, published by Law Journal Seminars Press. He has lectured at various seminars sponsored by MCLE and the Massachusetts Bar Association, on topics relating to public offerings, securities laws, and takeover defenses. Mr. Borden served as a member of the subcommittee of the Boston Bar Association that drafted the Massachusetts Control Share Acquisition Act. He serves on a special task force of the Boston Bar Association that is redrafting the Massachusetts corporations statute. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Tenacre Country Day School and an Overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Borden received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, and a B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Yale University.

The Panelists

DFW Live Panelist: 

Mr. Rene Larrave most recently was the President, CEO, and Founder of Tactica, a business and technology consulting company based in Dallas. He has over 20 years of management consulting experience in areas that include business strategy, operations, business process redesign, and information technology in a variety of industries including financial services, retail, telecommunications, manufacturing, utilities, hospitality, high tech, and entertainment. Throughout his career, he has advised some of the most influential corporations in the world.

Tactica is Mr. Larrave's most recent venture, which was recently acquired by a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi in late 2001. Tactica was a very successful professional services company that specialized in the use of leading technologies to enable business strategy. Since its founding in April 1996, Mr. Larrave took the company on an aggressive growth path. Prior to its acquisition, the company had over 200 consultants, in offices in Dallas, Chicago, and Denver, and a run rate of around $40 million in revenue. Throughout its history, Tactica was able to maintain an annual compounded growth rate of close to 100% while always maintaining a 20% pretax profit margin.

Prior to Tactica, Mr. Larrave was a management team member with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in both its London and Dallas offices. Prior to Booz, Allen, Mr. Larrave was with the financial services group of Deloitte Consulting.

Mr. Larrave has also held Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Business teaching positions at the University of Texas at Austin and Monterrey Institute of Technology. He is a member of both the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO).

Mr. Larrave has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BS in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University and Monterrey Institute of Technology. He is also a Certified Management Consultant with the Institute of Management Consultants.

 

Cambridge Panelists:

Chip Linnemann is a Vice President of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and a senior member of the Firm's Healthcare Group. Based in Boston, Mr. Linnemann has responsibility for investment banking coverage of healthcare companies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he was a Managing Director with and Director of Advest Inc.'s Healthcare Investment Banking Group, and served for four years as a Captain with the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Mr. Linnemann holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Paul Maeder is a Partner at Highland Capital Partners, focusing on information technology investments, most notably enterprise software. He has over 25 years of software experience and over 17 years experience in venture capital. He currently serves on the boards of ANDA Networks, Relicore, SynaPix, SCH and Village Ventures, and is actively involved with Bolt.

Mr. Maeder is a former director of Avid Technology, CheckFree, Chipcom, HighGround Systems, Inc., Mainspring Inc. (Nasdaq: MSPR), SQA, Sybase, and WebLine Communications. Before forming Highland, Mr. Maeder was a General Partner at Charles River Ventures where he concentrated on technology investments. Prior to entering venture capital, he held operating positions for six years in high growth technology companies. At Novacor Corporation, he managed several projects in the development of an implantable artificial heart. Later, Mr. Maeder was responsible for the development of a complex visual field examination instrument at Synemed Corporation where he also headed the company's mechanical engineering and software development activities.

Mr. Maeder is an avid ocean sailor and ultralight pilot, and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Nature Conservancy and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. He is also a director of The Providence Journal Company.

Mr. Maeder has a B.S.E. in Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences from Princeton University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Jeffrey McCormick is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Saturn Management LLC. Saturn Management provides management services to Saturn Partners and other members of the Saturn Group, a team of affiliated companies that specialize in the capitalization of emerging growth companies with direct investments from private investors. Mr. McCormick works with management teams of Saturn Portfolio Companies, formulating strategies for product development, marketing and distribution. He has acted or currently acts as an advisor to or member of the board of directors of several Saturn Portfolio Companies.

In February of 2001, Mr. McCormick accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of Alternative Technology Resources, Inc., a Saturn portfolio company. ATR processes fee-for-service business medical claims on behalf of its participating providers (physicians and hospitals). The company is in the early phase of implementing its technology to provide a scalable solution to handle the electronic transmission and repricing of claims.

From 1988 to 1992, Mr. McCormick was with Bariston Associates, Inc., a Boston firm, which originates and manages private investments for individual and institutional clients. He was an acquisition and syndication specialist and reviewed potential investment opportunities, including performing financial analysis and extensive due diligence. Mr. McCormick actively supports Dana Farber cancer research. He enjoys golf, skiing and running marathons.

From 1984 to 1986, Mr. McCormick was a biochemist in a Syracuse University molecular genetics laboratory where he researched detection techniques for HTLV-III (AIDS) and Hepatitis B. He earned both an M.B.A. in Finance and a B.S. in biology from Syracuse University.

James Nicholson is Founder, Chairman & CEO of Cortek, Inc. and a seasoned entrepreneur. Since 1969, he has founded six medical device companies, all based on solving a fundamental medical or surgical problem. In Cortek, Mr. Nicholson and his associates have invented and developed a proprietary implant and delivery system, made from either plastic or cadaver bone, to accelerate fusion in the lumbar vertebrae.

Mr. Nicholson is known for identifying major medical/surgical market needs and co-inventing core technology as the basis of the company. He founded Mitek Surgical Products and Innovasive Devices, Inc. Mitek was sold to Johnson and Johnson for $128M in 1995. Innovasive is a NASDAQ traded public company (IDEA) with a Capital Value of approximately $55M.

Venodyne, developed in 1972, is a system that squeezes and pumps the lower legs of anesthetized patients to stimulate venous return and prevent blood clots during and after surgery. It is estimated that Venodyne has saved in excess of 10,000 lives since its invention. A variation of Venodyne, sold by Kendall, accounts for 80 percent of Kendall's annual profits.

Mammalok, the worldwide leading needle wire localizer for marking non-palpable microcalcifications that could lead to breast cancer, has been used in more than 1.5 million procedures. If only 10 percent of those lesions were cancerous, approximately 150,000 lives have been saved from metastatic cancer.

The Mitek Anchor, invented and patented in 1990, has been used to repair soft tissue injuries resulting mostly from sports and athletic events in over 750,000 patients. The Mitek Anchor, now owned and marketed by Johnson and Johnson's Ethicon Suture Division, holds the #1 Market Share in the world for soft tissue injury repair.

Mr. Nicholson holds a B.S. and M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. He holds 25 issued U.S. Patents and is the author of 16 national and international publications, mostly concerning medical devices.