John Woodburn ~ C.J. Woodburn & Associates

John is President of C.J. Woodburn & Associates - a franchise consulting firm which specializes in helping new and established franchisors market their systems and expand regionally, nationally and internationally. We also work with individuals and/or groups to select a franchise or negotiate master franchise rights. We have been involved in the franchise industry since 1975 all over North America, plus special assignments in Europe and even Saudi Arabia.

Lori Karpman ~ Lori Karpman & Associates Ltd

Lori Karpman is a 15 yr. veteran of the franchise industry, and is both a consultant and lawyer practicing in the field. After having co-founded a franchised restaurant chain and garnered several prestigious awards for her work, she left the business to open her own consulting firm. She is a frequent guest lecturer, the Legal Editor of the magazine Quebec Franchises and a feature writer for Canadian Business Franchising magazine.

Shawn Saraga ~ Mr. Franchise.ca

Shawn Saraga has been helping people make major business decisions for over 12 years. A former print company owner and executive at one of Canada's largest publication firms, Shawn's wide spread experience puts him as one of the key experts on Sales and Marketing in Canada. Having advised companies like Bank of Montreal, Walt Disney, GAP and Transcontinental on best practices of doing business in Canada. He is a constant contributor to the community, an instructor at one of Canada's Top Universities and a Marathon Runner. Shawn will share with you his insight by helping you identify your core-strengths and weaknesses.

Dan So ~ McKenzie Lake

Daniel F. So specializes in franchise, licensing and intellectual property law and heads the franchise law department at McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP. Dan is a member of the Canadian Franchise Association’s legal and legislative committee, and has spoken and written numerous articles about franchising for the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Franchise Association, and Franchise Canada magazine. Dan was consulted by the Province of Prince Edward Island for input on their franchise legislation and regulations, and is the official legal advisor at North America’s largest franchise show series. Dan is the author of the best-selling text Canadian Franchise Law Handbook published by Lexis-Nexis Butterworths in 2005.

Dan is an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law in the University of Western Ontario, an instructor of Business Law at Kings College at the University of Western Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Management, an instructor at Fanshawe College, and an advisor to Fanshawe College’s International Business Program. In his spare time, Dan is an avid offshore sailor.

Canadian Intellectual Property Office of Industry Canada

Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, as well as symbols, names, pictures, designs and models used in business. Patents, trade-marks, copyrights, and industrial designs are referred to as "IP rights." Just as rights are acquired when a building or land is purchased, IP rights are "property" in the sense that they are based on the legal right to exclude others from using the property.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a special operating agency of Industry Canada, is mainly responsible for the administration of the IP system in Canada. Having identified your IP assets, you can start putting in place strategies to safeguard them and prevent others from diminishing your competitive advantage. By learning how to exploit the wealth of strategic information contained in various IP databases, whether they are Canadian or international, you can give your business a competitive edge and really stand out from others.

Eric Gilboord

Eric Gilboord specializes in demystifying marketing to make it easy for anyone to use. He is a popular speaker, columnist and author of many articles and books on marketing. Eric worked for 14 years in advertising agencies helping large clients. Since 1994 he has worked with over 300 small & medium-sized businesses as a marketing coach and supplier. www.EricGilboord.com

His new book 'Let Your Passion Be Your Pension' will be out in early 2010.