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Wednesday, 16 May 2012 14:33 |
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Dykema Named as Legal Advisor
May 16, 2012
On May 14, Dykema was appointed as a member of the Korean Auto Parts Park (KAPP) Advisory Group. KAPP, a business incubator for lower-tier Korean auto suppliers, has been launched jointly by the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). KAPP is designed to help facilitate working relationships between Detroit-based auto companies working directly with Korean parts manufacturers. Dykema is one of four advisors—and the only law firm—that will provide strategic counsel and assistance to KAPP and to those businesses housed in the facility.
Three members of Dykema’s Korean Business Team—Jin-Kyu Koh, Hoon Noh and Paul Lee—attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the opening of the KAPP in Troy, MI. The event was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Seung-Keun Oh, the Senior Executive VP of KOTRA from Korea, Doug Smith, Senior VP from the MEDC, and Katherine Worthern, Head of International Purchasing from GM, as well as many executive management members of Korean companies, including Mobis, Mando and Kwangjin.
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Detroiter
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Wednesday, 16 May 2012 12:30 |
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GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich., May 16, 2012 — Harrington Communications, an award-winning Grosse Pointe Woods-based strategic communications and design firm, has announced the hiring of Brittany Zeller-Holland as senior graphic designer and Helen Brown as office manager, as well the promotion of Andrea Colf from graphic designer to graphic and lead interactive designer. These new staff changes are a result of the strong growth the agency has experienced over the past year.
Zeller-Holland, of Whitmore Lake, joins Harrington Communications with seven years of experience in the design industry. As senior graphic designer, she will work alongside Heather Harrington, president and creative director of Harrington Communications, to conceptualize and create compelling designs for the agency’s clients. Prior to joining Harrington Communications, Zeller-Holland worked as senior designer at Colorbök, a manufacturer and distributor of adult and kids' craft products.
Brown, of Washington Township, will join Harrington Communications as office manager. She will be responsible for all administrative duties and will be instrumental to the day-to-day operations of the agency. Before joining Harrington Communications, Brown served as office manager of a small Metro Detroit marketing agency.
“Brittany and Helen are the perfect additions to our team,” said Harrington. “Their unique skills and experience will provide outstanding value to our clients.”
Colf, of Ferndale, has also been promoted to graphic and lead interactive designer. Since joining Harrington Communications as graphic designer in October of 2010, Colf has been instrumental in assisting with the agency’s digital-oriented work. Her new title is a reflection of the strong contribution she has made in the areas of interactive and email marketing.
About Harrington Communications
Harrington Communications is an award-winning agency that specializes in branding, website design and development, email marketing and content creation for law, accounting, consulting and other professional services firms. The agency, which is based in Grosse Pointe Woods, works closely with clients to learn their business and develop creative solutions to help them achieve their objectives. To learn more about Harrington Communications, visit www.hcommunications.biz. |
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Your Say
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Tuesday, 15 May 2012 07:13 |
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SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 15, 2012 – Plante Moran, PLLC, and NewNorth Center are calling on Midwest businesses and organizations to share how they use innovation to increase revenue, improve quality and cut costs in a survey distributed today.
The second annual Innovation Quotient survey from Plante Moran, the public accounting, tax and business advisory firm and NewNorth, the executive education and innovation training institute, will help define and benchmark innovative practices. These include concepts that are relevant to specific industries. The 15-minute survey targeting C-level business executives asks questions that measure innovation initiative and activity, the business value of innovation, and drivers and constraints on innovation.
This year, Plante Moran and NewNorth are collaborating with 23 industry organizations, trade groups and business organizations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to identify innovation issues and to distribute the survey to their members. This year’s survey focuses on measuring the true value of innovation from revenue-producing and cost-saving standpoints. A set of industry-specific questions has been added to focus on products, services, and processes that are relevant to certain industries.
More than 500 business leaders from Michigan, Ohio and Illinois participated in last year’s Innovation Quotient survey, which found that:
- Executive teams must embed innovation into their corporate strategy
- Patents are only one of many indicators of innovation
- Formal development and commercialization processes are critical
- Budgeting for innovation translates into accountability
- Rewards are essential
“We hope to learn more about what drives innovation and share those findings so that we can contribute to the body of knowledge about what helps organizations to grow,” said Gordon Krater, Plante Moran managing partner. “The increased number of collaborators in this year’s survey underscores the importance of continuing to gauge our innovation quotients as a factor in the success of our businesses and our communities.”
This year’s collaborators include: Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Columbus Chamber, Community Bankers Association of Illinois, Detroit Regional Chamber, European-American Chamber of Commerce, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Holland Area Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Health Care Association, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Indiana Bankers Association, Lakeshore Advantage, Michigan Community College Association, Michigan Bankers Association, Michigan Council of Women in Technology, Midwest Technology Leaders Conference, Ohio Association of College & University Business Officials, Ohio Health Care Association, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, PolymerOhio, Inc. and The Right Place.
All survey participants will receive a customized report benchmarking their organization’s Innovation Quotient against innovation’s best-in-class practices. Plante Moran and NewNorth will publish their findings in a white paper and hold a webinar to review overall results. The study wraps up in mid-June.
“We look forward to deepening our understanding of how to make innovation more intentional and profitable within a business setting,” said Nate Young, president of NewNorth Center. “In our second annual survey, we hope to further demystify the process of innovation and provide meaningful benchmarking opportunities for businesses and organizations.”
For more information, to view or participate in the survey, visit http://www.innovationquotientsurvey.com/.
About NewNorth Center
NewNorth Center is a nonprofit, hybrid education and business institution. The Center specializes in innovation assessment, immersive skills training, research, executive education, workshops, seminars and an annual Design in Business Summit. The Center’s portfolio features design-centric, post-graduate business programs formulated expressly to bring increased value to local, regional and national companies and organizations. For more information, visit www.newnorthcenter.org.
About Plante Moran, PLLC
Plante Moran is among the nation’s largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms, providing clients with tax, audit, risk management, financial, technology, business consulting, and wealth management services. Plante Moran has a staff of more than 1,600 professionals in 21 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico and Mumbai, India. Plante Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country’s best places to work. For more information, visit plantemoran.com.
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Monday, 14 May 2012 14:37 |
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Bingham Farms, MICH., - The YES Foundation has selected David Segura, CEO of VisionIT, as 2012’s Distinguished American in recognition of his dedication to four key areas of a balanced life: family, community, education and business. The Distinguished American Award Breakfast will be held on Thursday, May 24, 2012 from 7:30 to 9 a.m., at The Townsend Hotel, located on 100 Townsend St., in Birmingham. Tickets for the breakfast start at $50 and can be purchased by calling 248.646.5696 or visiting www.theyesfoundation.org.
The Distinguished American Award began in 2010 as a way to highlight role models for students in the YES for PREP program. YES for PREP is a program that identifies high potential 7th grade minority students and subjects them to a rigorous 14 month supplemental academic program to prepare them for the entrance to academically challenging high schools that partner with The Yes Foundation.
Mr. Segura is a devoted husband and father, and is passionate about educating area youths about technology. He founded VisionIT in 1997, and under his leadership, it has grown into one of Michigan’s largest IT companies as well as being recognized as one of the largest minority-owned businesses in the United States. VisionIT. VisionIT provides IT managed services, IT staffing and overall vendor management of contract personnel for Fortune 500 corporations including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, HP, AT&T, Macy’s, Coca-Cola, UPS, Comerica, and Toyota. Other clients include Banamex and Detroit Public Schools as well as healthcare systems and state and local governments. VisionIT operates across the U.S., with additional locations in Puerto Rico, Mexico and India, generating revenues of $250 million per year. The company manages 3500 consultants and employs nearly 1000 people, including 300 in Detroit.
Mr. Segura is active in a number of industry groups locally, including the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council and Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Nationally, he is active in HITEC (Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council), National Minority Supplier Development Council and ITSMF (Information Technology Senior Management Forum).
In the last couple years, Mr. Segura has become a sought-after voice at the highest levels of government. He serves on the U.S. Department f Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise and has participated in White House roundtable discussions on technology and jobs growth. In 2010, Mr. Segura was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations with the U.S. Trade Ambassador.
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The YES Foundation®, a non-profit organization founded in 1992 to help high school youth identify their skills, and prepare for the workforce has since expanded to include literacy programs realizing that education is the best way to reduce job skill deficiencies. The YES Foundation® provides comprehensive educational and personal development programs for elementary, middle, and high school students in Detroit, Highland Park and Pontiac. The YES Foundation® goal, help students maximize their potential, complete at the highest academic level and become lifelong learners. The YES Foundation® is funded through individual, corporate and foundation contributions. |
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Monday, 14 May 2012 08:46 |
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ANN ARBOR – May 14, 2012 - Kelly Burris, a shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., has been named co-chair of the Green Technology Intellectual Property Summit to be held in Chicago on June 27th to June 29th. Additionally, she will serve as a conference speaker on the topic, ‘Utilizing New Patent Portfolio Valuation Metrics for Green Technologies Post-America Invents Act.’
At Brinks, Ms. Burris is chair of the firm’s Green Technology Practice Group and focuses her practice on the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in the mechanical, material science and electrical arts. She also prepares clearance/freedom-to-practice opinions, drafts and negotiates licensing agreements and joint development agreements and supports patent and trademark litigation, including client counseling, discovery, depositions and brief writing. Ms. Burris is also involved in due diligence with mergers and acquisitions, transactional matters, management and administration of corporate intellectual property portfolios and policies and strategic competitive intelligence.
Prior to practicing law, Ms. Burris spent more than 11 years in the aerospace industry with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, where she worked in diverse areas such as advanced composite materials, advanced design, production manufacturing, ballistics research, virtual reality and CAD/CAM technology and applications. Ms. Burris also holds a U.S. Patent in the area of fiber optics. She is a licensed pilot.
The Green Technology Intellectual Property Summit will present practical strategies for developing and exploiting green IP portfolios to maximize revenues and position businesses for success. The Summit offers continuing legal education (CLE) credits and is sponsored by the American Conference Institute. To register, call 888-224-2480 or visit www.AmericanConference.com/GreenTech.
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Brinks has over 140 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents who specialize in intellectual property, making it one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S. Clients around the world use Brinks to help them identify, protect, manage and enforce their intellectual property. Brinks lawyers provide expertise in all aspects of patent, trademark, unfair competition, trade secret and copyright law. The Brinks team includes lawyers with bachelors and advanced degrees in all fields of technology and science. In addition to Ann Arbor, Brinks has offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Research Triangle Park, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis. More information is available at www.usebrinks.com.
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Thursday, 10 May 2012 10:13 |
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Troy, Mich., May 10, 2012 – OpTech, a Troy, Michigan-based information technology and engineering staffing solutions provider, will be attending and sponsoring a booth at the Homeland Security Acquisition Summit on May 15 at Macomb Community College’s South Campus.
OpTech’s presence at the Homeland Security Acquisition Summit will be led by Bradley A. Wilkerson, the director of cyber security at OpTech. OpTech recently launched its cyber security practice, which provides 24/7 network and security monitoring services, cyber security assessments, penetration testing, network vulnerability assessments, intrusion detection and countermeasures, cyber forensics, and cyber security training.
The Homeland Security Acquisition Summit will offer attendees the opportunity to interact with key acquisition executives from several organizations within the Department of Homeland Security.
Wilkerson and his team will be on hand to provide information about OpTech’s cyber security capabilities and consulting services that help businesses and governmental entities assess security risks and develop effective cyber security strategies.
The Homeland Security Acquisition Summit is hosted by the Michigan Homeland Security Consortium, and will be held on May 15 at Macomb Community College’s South Campus in Warren from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. OpTech will be located in booth F11. To register for the event and for more information, visit www.mihsc.org.
About OpTech
OpTech is an award-winning professional services firm specializing in connecting Fortune 1000 and government clients to top information technology and engineering talent from coast to coast. Based in southeast Michigan with offices located in Washington, D.C. and Hawaii, OpTech's innovative solutions address the critical needs of clients in the banking, manufacturing, insurance, utility, healthcare and government sectors. OpTech offers its employees outstanding career opportunities supporting innovative companies with cutting-edge technology. Visit www.optechus.com to learn more about OpTech.
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