A Fireside Chat with Tech Legend Ken Spencer
Tuesday, April 28 @ Vancity Theatre
As part of our “Technology Legends” theme, the VEF is pleased to present a fireside chat with local legend Ken Spencer. After holding a senior executive role in many BC technology companies such as MacDonald Detwiller and Associates and Glenayre, Ken and his partner Dan Gelbart branched out on their own to found Creo Products. Over the next 20 years, they grew the company into BC’s largest technology company with 4,000 employees and revenues of nearly $1 billion, took the company public and eventually sold the company to Kodak in 2005.
Laurie Wallace, past co-founder of Datum Telegraphic and FlyOver Entertainment and current chair of Constrcutive Media and Vivity Labs will moderate the fireside chat. He and Ken will talk about Ken’s drive to co-found Creo Products, his motivation for wanting to run his “own” company, and the keys to growing Creo into BC’s largest technology company.
Click here for Express Registration
Doors and bar open at 5:00 P.M. for pre-event networking. The presentations will begin at 6:00 p.m. with five 100-second lightning talks by members of the community that have an important message to share. The keynote presentation will follow the lightning pitches. The presentations will be followed a networking session and light dinner to provide attendees with time to chat with their colleagues and the presenters.
Please note that seating in the theatre is first-come-first served. If we reach capacity in the theatre, attendees are welcome to sit with colleagues and enjoy the presentations on the screen in the theatre café.
The event will be held on Tuesday, April 28 at the Vancity Theatre at 1181 Seymour Street (at Davie). Pre-registration is highly recommended. Admission is free for members, $35 for non-members.
About Ken Spencer
Ken Spencer co-founded Creo in 1983. Creo grew to be British Columbia’s largest technology company with over 4000 employees in BC, the United States, Europe and Israel. Ken retired as CEO in 1995, remaining active on Creo’s board through its Nasdaq IPO and until its acquisition by Kodak for over $1 billion in 2005.
For over a decade, Ken has been an active angel investor in BC and has served as co-founder, chair or director of numerous technology companies, educational associations, and institutions in BC. He now spends some of his time mentoring other CEO’s and serving on boards. He is on the board of Bycast, Sirius Genomics, and of Science World as Past Chair of the Board of Governors. Previously he has been Chair of the Board of Spectrum Signal Processing Twinstrand Therapeutics, Sirius Genomics and CityXpress and a member of the Board of BCIT and AceTech. He has also been chair of UBC’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Committee and on the Council for UBC’s University Liaison Office.
The rest of his time he spends skiing and travelling, as much of it as possible by bicycle. In 1996 Ken, his partner Judy and their son Wylie spent a year travelling around the world, much of it by bicycle.
Ken has a Ph.D. from UBC, an MBA from SFU and an Honorary Doctorate from SFU.
See the video here (scroll to bottom of page and select event).
