ACG: Connections, Consideration, And Horseracing?

Twenty years ago I joined ACG and the ACG Toronto Board for its business development opportunities at a time when business development by lawyers was limited. Today my firm continues to support ACG as the sole platinum law firm sponsor for ACG Toronto’s Capital Connection. My involvement as a young lawyer at the chapter board level with ACG Toronto founder, Bob Coffey, and members of the Toronto business community gave me an invaluable appreciation for a network of contacts. I have served as ACG Toronto President and a member of the ACG Board of Directors (Chapter President Director 1991, Vice President Programs 1995-1996, and Secretary 2001-2003). When I am asked why I am an ACG member, my response is that ACG affords me the opportunity to leave my downtown tower office and get a real-life education in the dealmaking community. Also the ACG network for cross-border deals is excellent. I have some personal experiences that demonstrate how connected and considerate ACG members are, and that the membership path can lead to unanticipated and remarkable experiences. ACG Members Are Connected In the summer of 2002 our ACG Toronto president, Jason Sparaga, had a goal to invigorate our chapter by inviting persons we identified as business leaders to join our board. Charlie Downer, then ACG president, and Carl Wangman, the individual most in tune with ACG, made the trip to Toronto to support our efforts. The invitees met in a boardroom at my law firm that happens to be located in the core of Toronto in the Scotia Plaza building. I greeted Charlie at our reception, and he wondered aloud whether ours was the building that housed the Bank of Nova Scotia. He had attended Harvard with Peter Godsoe, then the chairman of the bank. Charlie called Mr. Godsoe’s office and was soon meeting with his former schoolmate. It was an unexpected surprise when Peter Godsoe joined our meeting with potential board members in support of ACG – all due to Charlie’s connections. ACG Members Are Considerate John Gullman was president of ACG at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics. An avid hockey fan, John was gracious in opening our ACG board of directors meeting following the games with congratulations to the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams on their gold metal performances. As the only Canadian on the board, it meant a lot to me. A few short weeks after 9/11 we had a scheduled ACG board meeting in Chicago. At that time it was not unusual to be “skittish” about flying. As the sole Canadian on the board, I had no reservations in attending that meeting to support our friends and neighbors. However, it was a good thing that I did not know that the Sears Tower had been cleared out the day before due to a bomb scare! In Toronto we endured SARS through the spring and summer of 2003, but we were nonetheless welcomed at ACG InterGrowth in 2003. The ACG Toronto members who attended InterGrowth appreciated the support of the ACG community, although I do recall that as I rode the elevators at the Del Coronado in San Diego, wearing an ACG Toronto nametag, I received some mixed reaction from fellow passengers. Horseracing At ACG InterGrowth in 1997 in San Antonio, Texas, the ACG Outstanding Corporate Growth Award was for the first time presented to a Canadian company – car parts manufacturer Magna International. The chairman, Frank Stronach, was required to attend in person to accept. Frank arrived in Texas by private jet with a mutual friend, Tom Taylor. Those of you who attended his luncheon address will recall his unique and successful business philosophy. I spent some time with Frank and Tom and was invited to fly back to Toronto on the private jet. Little did I realize that: * The flight would stop in Lexington, Ky. * We would attend the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. * We would appear on ESPN in the winner’s circle when Frank’s horse won The Northfields with the jockey who turned out to be the winning jockey at the Kentucky Derby a few weeks later. The ACG experience is special! Renate Herbst ACG Toronto, Honorary Director Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP [email protected] (c) 2005 Mergers and Acquisitions Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.majournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com