Event Notices From September 11
Socially Responsible Investing Session Coming Up: Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. and West Bloomfield Township financial adviser Jeffrey R. Kingzett will host Stu Dalheim, a national leader in the use of shareholder rights to advocate for socially responsible business practices, in an evening presentation Tuesday, Sept. 18. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ferndale Public Library, 222 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale. Metered parking is available in nearby municipal lots. In addition, attendees will hear a briefing on land conservation efforts in Oakland, Macomb, Genesee and Lapeer Counties by Chris Bunch, Executive Director of the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy. Following the presentation, Ferndale Library Interim Director Ed Burns will provide tours of the environmentally friendly features of the library's award-winning 2010 renovation and expansion. Please RSVP by Monday, Sept. 17. Call (248) 865-2519 or email jeffrey.kingzett@ampf.com to reserve a place for you and a guest. Light refreshments will be served. There is no cost or obligation for attending this event. More about Dahleim and his work at Calvert at www.calvert.com/sri-analysts.html. He was the lead author on a Calvert report that benchmarked the environmental programs and performance of major U.S. homebuilders in 2008 and co-author of a 2010 report that assessed corporate board oversight of environmental and social risks. He serves on the board of the Sustainable Business Network of Washington. He earned a BA in philosophy from Wesleyan University and is a LEED accredited professional.
NEF Offers Angel Investing Event: The Ann Arbor New Enterprise Forum will meet Thursay, Sept. 20 for a special session on "Flying With Angels." Angel investors are often the first to take a chance on funding new ideas, technologies, or business models. What makes a company attractive to this important early investor? Our September panel will discuss what they look for in companies they invest in, typical structures of these deals, and what types of things they see that are deal killers. Panelists include angel investor Stewart Nelson, a retired commercial pilot who is now a serial investor, NEF coach and Spark boot camp volunteer; Ken Kousky, CEO of the MidMichigan Innovation Center and IP3 Inc., an information security consulting firm; Skip Simms, vice president of entrepreneurial business development at Ann Arbor Spark and manager of its Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund; and moderator Terry Cross, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. This month's showcase presenter is Patient Provider Communications, an Ann Arbor-based health care technology company founded in 2009 to develop Eloquence, the first evidence-based nurse call solution. Visit www.concentratemedia.com/innovationnews/patientprovidercommunications0082.aspx. The meeting will be held at Spark Central, 330 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor. Registration and networking begin at 5 p.m., with the program starting at 5:45. The event is free to NEF members, $20 for nonmembers and $5 for students. For more information, visit www.NewEnterpriseForum.org.
Automation Alley Offers Conference On Qatar, UAE: In partnership with the U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Small Business Administration, Michigan Economic Development Corp., American Arab Chamber of Commerce, U.S.-Qatar Business Council and Michigan State University, Automation Alley invites you to attend "Doing Business in Qatar and United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.): Tiger Economies of the Middle East." This event will focus on the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Qatar and the U.A.E. and it will feature case studies by local company executives from Fluxtrol Inc. and PAT Engineering USA, who will share firsthand insights on how to successfully break into these profitable markets. As two of the world's fastest-growing markets, both nations have a high demand for Michgan products, services, and technologies, including architecture, construction and engineering services, automotive, higher education, IT and information communication technologies, medical equipment and the oil and gas equipment and machinery. Qatar's dynamic economy has tripled in size since 2005, and Qatar has transformed into the world's wealthiest country, with a GDP per capita of $109,000. Last year, Qatar had the world's second-fastest growing economy, with 18.8 percent GDP growth. Today, Qatar is aggressively channeling its energy wealth toward creating a more diversified economy. The U.S. is Qatar's second-leading importing country. Equally impressive, the U.A.E. is our nation's largest export market in the Arab world. In fact, Michigan's exports to the U.A.E. jumped 50 percent from 2010 to 2011, thanks in large part to very low or non-existent import duties. The U.A.E.'s GDP is projected to grow 5 percent this year, along with the U.A.E.'s growing appetite for American goods. The event runs from 8 to 11:30 a.m. at Automation Alley headquarters, 2675 Bellingham, Troy. For more information about the conference and to register, contact the Automation Alley Resource Center at (800) 427-5100 or info@automationalley.com.
