Research shows that Boards with women members significantly out perform all-male boards in areas of key governance. Despite this knowledge, not all companies have put this into action. On April 14th, the Association of Women in Finance will host an interactive panel discussion with women who have sat on boards of a wide range of companies and who have enjoyed many successes in the board room and in their careers.

Hear about their experiences and what it takes to succeed in the boardroom. Our panelists are business leaders who have the experience serving on for-profit and not-for-profit boards:

Patrice Pratt – Vancity

Janice Comeau – Legal Services Society

Betty Harrison – BC Ferries

Tracey McVicar – BC Hydro

Wanda Costuros – BC Hydro

As we must confirm attendance with the hotel, please RSVP to 604-662-4401 before noon on Thursday, April 9, 2009. Please indicate whether you are a member and whether you will be bringing a guest. Cancellations received after 12:00 noon on Thursday, April 9, 2009 will be invoiced.

Recently, the mention of Japanese M&A activity conjured up images of Steel Partners, Ripplewood and Cerberus feeding on undervalued Japanese assets, often to the consternation of the target firm’s directors. Thanks to the credit crisis, the tables have turned swiftly and dramatically. A strong yen and limited access to capital now deter would-be U.S. and European buyers from targeting Japanese firms, and depressed foreign share values have cleared the way for cash-rich Japanese firms to make major strategic and opportunistic acquisitions. While domestic and out-in M&A figures involving Japan are down, in-out M&As have hit record volumes, notably in the healthcare and financial sectors. Our experts examine the current trend and future outlook for Japanese M&A, and contrast present activity with previous ill-fated real estate and technology buying sprees in the 1980s and ’90s.

Panelists:
Michael Braun, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Richard S. Kelly Jr., Senior Managing Director, The Bridgeford Group, Inc.
Nobuhiko Masuto, Managing Director, GCA Savvian Advisors, LLCModerator:
Herbert Lash, Global Markets Correspondent, Reuters Register here

Important Changes Impacting the Regulatory Environment

• Impact of Madoff Ponzi Scheme on the regulatory environment
• Impact of credit crisis and financial restructuring on regulatory initiatives
  -transparency
  -third party independent administration· General SEC agenda
  -New SEC chairman/Obama administration impact· Initiatives currently underway
  -Hedge fund manager registration
  -Hedge Fund Transparency Act
  -Tax proposals
• Litigation that can arise from regulatory change

Panelists:
Benjamin Haskin, Partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
William Mulligan Jr., Chairman & CEO, HedgeOp Compliance
James Lanshe, Chairman & CEO, MadisonGrey
Gregg Levin, Senior Counsel, Motley Rice LLC

Register here

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group

In case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:

Mergers and Acquisitions

• The expected deal for Barclays to sell its ETF business, iShares to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners was completed. The $4.2bn deal is the UK’s biggest private equity deal for almost 2 years. Barclays is providing a $3.1bn loan to CVC to facilitate the deal. The agreement is also subject to a ‘go shop’ provision that would allow another bidder to make a higher offer for iShares in the next 45 days if Barclays pays CVC a $175m break fee.

• Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner has a back-up plan for its deal with Chinese mining group Chinalco. The deal that involves Rio raising $19,5bn by issuing $12.3bn of convertible bonds, plus a $7.2bn asset sale to Chinalco is facing threats from Australian regulators and some shareholders. The back-up is a rights issue of about $10bn, with plans already drawn up with underwriters JPMorgan Cazenove and Credit Suisse.

• Innocent, the smoothie drinks group is selling a minority stake to Coca Cola for £30m. The money will be used to fund European expansion.

• Microsoft and Yahoo have restarted talks about forging an internet partnership that will provide a credible challenge to the increasing influence of Google. Talks are at ‘a very early stage.’

Read more

You already have some networking skills! Come to discover what they are and how to enhance them. This is an educational and fun event that you don?t want to miss! This event is designed for participants to become aware of various networking techniques while sharing their own style. Draw from others networking successes and design your own personalized presentation.

A Time to Celebrate

GWWN is encouraging you to invite someone to recognize. Individuals making a significant difference in your life would like to hear it publicly. Time will be given to acknowledge them.

Click here to register.