Press Release
Contact: Robert Caudle |
Phone: (919) 549-7500 ext. 107 |
McConnell and deBethizy to Keynote CED’s Opportunity 2006
Preeminent North Carolina Business Leaders To Speak at Wilmington Conference on Dec. 4-5
October 17, 2006, Research Triangle Park, NC – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today confirmed John McConnell and J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., as featured speakers for CED’s Opportunity 2006 Conference, set for December 4-5 at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in Wilmington, N.C.
John McConnell is a successful entrepreneur who has started, grown and sold several companies. Under McConnell’s leadership, Raleigh-based Medic Computer Systems went public in 1992 and was sold to Misys for $923 million in 1997. In December 1998, McConnell became CEO and Chairman of Cary-based A4 Health Systems, a provider of electronic medical record solutions that grew substantially through organic growth and acquisitions. In January 2006, McConnell led A4 through a $272 million cash-and-stock sale to publicly-traded Allscripts.
J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., is President and CEO of Winston-Salem-based Targacept, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the design, discovery and development of a new class of drugs to treat the central nervous system. Dr. deBethizy has led the company since the time it was a spin-out from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in August 2000, and took the company through a successful IPO in April 2006. Dr. deBethizy was named “Carolina’s Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst and Young for his entrepreneurial leadership at Targacept.
“The Opportunity Conference is designed to be informational and inspirational, and these two highly successful entrepreneurs will contribute to both,” said CED President Monica Doss. “Our keynote speakers, as well as the many other experts speaking during the conference, offer a wealth of knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship and business growth.”
The fourth annual conference will also feature workshops addressing both new business formation and practical guidance for business operation, plus three highly-targeted pre-conference workshops on market research, start-up planning and presentation training. A select number of entrepreneurs will present their company’s business plan to angel investors from throughout the Southeast. Entrepreneurs may also request one-on-one “curbside consulting” appointments with seasoned business professionals.
Learn more about Opportunity 2006 online at www.cednc.org/opportunity.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. Headquartered in the Research Triangle with a divisional office in Wilmington, CED is the largest and oldest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. www.cednc.org
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