Featured Speaker(s)

Anna Convery, vice president - marketing, Jacada Inc.
Anna is responsible for all marketing activities for Jacada Inc., worldwide. She started her career with IBM EMEA and was involved in the launch of the IBM iSeries midrange server (formerly the AS/400). Subsequently, she worked in Germany, France, and Belgium developing market awareness, distribution channels, and partners for Irish software house Unibol Ltd. Anna relocated to the United States after Unibol was acquired by Atlanta-based UniComp Inc., to lead marketing and business development for Unibol products worldwide. She joined Jacada Inc., a leading provider of legacy integration and web-enablement solutions in 1997. Anna earned a BA with Honors in Business Law and Management from Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and an MBA in International Marketing from Université Louvain la Neuve in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. She is a member of the Certified Institute of Marketing of Great Britain and holds a Postgraduate Diploma from the Market Research Society of Europe.

Diane Alleva Cáceres, president and managing director, Market Access International Inc. (MAI)
Diane established MAI, an international trade and investment consulting firm, in 1996 and has developed a network of formal and informal strategic partners in 33 countries. MAI helps private and public sector clients expand into international markets through market research, entry strategy development and implementation, qualification of potential business contacts, sales negotiation, and securing trade and project finance. Her previous positions include Project Manager and Sr. Business Advisor for North Africa and the Middle East at the Center for Trade and Investment Services (USAID) in Washington, DC; Senior Accounts Manager for the Australian Trade Commission; Economist at the World Technology Foundation; and Asia Program Assistant at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in International Trade Policy from the College of William and Mary in Virginia; a Certificate in Finance and Accounting from the Dupree School of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and was awarded a one-year Rotary International Fellowship for the study of European Economic Integration through the D.E.A. program at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, France.

Lauren L. Owenby, life sciences business development manager, Office of Science & Technology, Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism (GDITT).
Lauren has over 10 years of experience in the life sciences industry, including developing international markets for SeaLite Sciences and six years as Program Manager for the Georgia Biomedical Partnership (GBP). She assists life sciences companies during expansion or relocation, and in growing their international markets through marketing and research. Her expertise lies in tapping into state research, strategic, and regulatory resources by brokering relationships with partners such as the ATDC, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Tech, UGA, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the GDITT’s 10 international offices worldwide. Lauren is a board director for the Georgia Biomedical Partnership and a graduate of the University of Georgia.

Evelyn Ashley, founder and practice leader of Red Hot Law Group, the growth companies practice of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, will moderate. A corporate, technology and intellectual property lawyer with over 21 years of experience, Evelyn is also a co-founder of Red Hot Venture Consulting and serves as City Leader of First Tuesday Atlanta. She advises clients on mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, complex venture investments, technology licensing, IP protection, corporate spin-outs and entity creation, executive compensation and managing foreign counsel. In the past two years she has advised client companies on transactions totaling in excess of $300 million. Evelyn holds a B.A. from Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, New York, and a J.D., cum laude, from Georgia State University College of Law.