Event Details

October 14, 2015, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

7:30-8 a.m. Breakfast and registration
8-8:30 a.m. Keynote address from Andreas Schotter on the hassle factors associated with certain locations and implications for business
8:30-9 a.m. Moderated Q&A with Con Steers, HBA ’76, Managing Director of Pedra da Gavea Co. Ltd., on lessons learned from doing business in hassle-laden countries
9-9:30 a.m. Q&A

Location: Ivey's Tangerine Leadership Centre (formerly ING Direct Leadership Centre), King & York St., Toronto

Tickets: $30, $25 alumni rate, $20 student rate

About the Event

Why do so many Canadian companies expand south of the border when there is literally a world of opportunity out there? It's the same reason multinationals opt for one country over another, even if it means overlooking an ideal market. Convenience often trumps strategy when it comes to location choices and it’s a phenomenon that is limiting companies’ international success. Ivey Assistant Professor Andreas Schotter, MBA ’04, PhD ’09, has identified 11 inconveniences or “hassle factors” that might cause managers to avoid certain foreign locations. He has also ranked countries in terms of their hassle factor. Join Schotter and Con Steers, HBA ’76, Managing Director of Pedra da Gavea Co. Ltd., for an interactive discussion on how to expand your company internationally, make location choices that will tap into your ideal market and boost your bottom line, as well as to make the most of the locations your company already has. Steers will share lessons learned from his business experiences in Brazil.

Topics You Will Explore

• What are the major inconveniences or “hassle factors” that bother managers the most and how do these factors influence location choices?
• How are location choices based on “hassle factors” limiting companies’ international success?
• What are the key factors managers need to consider when expanding internationally?

About the Donald L. Triggs Lecture in International Business

The Donald L. Triggs Lecture in International Business serves as a tool to assist in the development of a global leadership position for Canadian-based businesses.

The event will be moderated by Professor Paul Beamish, HBA ’76, PhD ’85, Donald L. Triggs Chair in International Business. Beamish is Canada’s most authoritative voice on international joint ventures and Director of Ivey’s Asian Management Institute and the Engaging Emerging Markets Research Centre. 

About the Speakers

Andreas Schotter, MBA ’04, PhD ’09, is Assistant Professor of International Business and Global Strategy and the Academic Director of Ivey’s Master of Science in Management program. He is also Academic Director of the CEMS Masters in International Management program. As an international business expert, he helps executives and organizations understand the challenges and opportunities posed by the constantly evolving global economy. He specializes in how to think strategically and drive the agile decision-making that will prevail in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business world. His research has been published in leading academic and practitioner journals including the Journal of International Business Studies and the MIT Sloan Management Review. In addition to his academic work, he helps leading multinational  corporations from North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America with emerging market strategies and international leadership development.

Con Steers, HBA ’76, is the Managing Director of Pedra da Gavea Co. Ltd. Steers serves on the Board of Petro Rio S.A., a rapidly expanding Brazilian oil and gas producer and is a Partner in U.K.-based Chiavenna Cracking Limited, a technology developer in the conversion of waste plastic and rubber into synthetic gas and diesel oil. He has had extensive experience with Brazilian and multinational companies in operations management, international business, marketing, and business development. He served on the Boards of Docas Investimentos S.A., Intelig Telecom (long-distance carrier), and Industrias Verolme-Ishibras S.A. (formerly Brazil’s largest shipbuilding group). Steers was the Managing Partner of Weatherhaven Brasil (construction camps, military camps, and field hospitals), IMC Brasil, and Kamewa do Brasil, as well as being the Brazilian representative of Mustang Engineering, Canada Steamship Lines, and IMAX Corporation.

About the Moderator

Paul Beamish, HBA ’76, PhD ’85, is a Professor of General Management and holds the Canada Research Chair in International Management and the Donald L.
Triggs Chair in International Business at Ivey. He is also Director of  Ivey’s Asian Management Institute and the Engaging Emerging Markets Research Centre. He is the author or co-author of more than 50 books and 100 refereed articles. His books are in the areas of International Management, Strategic Management and Joint Ventures and Alliances. His articles have appeared in Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), and elsewhere. He served as Editor-in-Chief of JIBS from 1993-97 and is on numerous editorial boards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy of International Business, and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.