Value Creation: Innovation, Rebirth, Rebranding
6:00 P.M., Thursday, October 20, 2005
Cherry Auditorium, Chester H. Kirk Engineering Building
University of Rhode Island, Upper College Road, Kingston, RI
Event Cost: This event is free and open to the public
>> Click here to view Providence Business News Article <<
Keynote Speaker Dr. Malcolm Spaulding is a distinguished URI Professor and the Founder of Applied Science Associates, an international leader in the development and application of computer tools to investigate marine and freshwater environments. Malcolm is an internationally recognized expert in marine environmental modeling and will address various aspects of ocean engineering and the importance of oil spill and water quality models.
Concordia Manufacturing’s garment business was booming in the mid-1900s. Confronted with the rise of manufacturing in the Far East over the past decade, the company decided to restructure by extending their fiber technologies to the medical field. CEO Randy Spencer has expanded Concordia’s expertise, transitioning from a longtime textile mill to biomedical manufacturing by developing yarns and fabrics for biomedical products- specifically for tissue scaffolding.
Narragansett Beer Company was selling over a million barrels of beer; however, changes in management and increasing competition diminished the Narragansett brand over time. Mark Hellendrung is now reestablishing the company by rebranding its products and restructuring its marketing initiatives. Both case studies will explore identifying and taking advantage of new market opportunities for undervalued assets, and the interactive Q&A session will address the companies’ strategies as they make this transition.
Host: Thomas Engellener, Partner, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
Moderator: Deborah Rosen, Master of Business Administration Director, University of Rhode Island
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Malcolm Spaulding, Professor of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island
Speaker Bios:
Randall Spencer, CEO of Concordia Manufacturing
>>Click here to view Randy's presentation<<
Concordia Manufacturing is a longtime textile company that began producing silk yarns in 1920, and then transitioned to synthetic yarns such as nylon and polyester fibers during WWII. The company has reinvented itself twice: first, they became involved in the production of advanced composites for the aerospace industry such as thermo-plastic yarns for stealth aircrafts and jet fighters; and later this technology was applied to the production of carbon/nylon composite tennis rackets. With increasing competition in Asia and other issues, Concordia recognized it would need to reestablish itself once again. Opportunities arose in the medical arena, particularly involving certain textiles that were found to be bio-absorbable. One of the most promising biomedical products now being manufactured by Concordia, the BioFelt scaffold, is an absorbable, non-woven 3-D felt. Cells are seated onto the scaffold, eventually forming into tissue. Concordia strives to form partnerships with medical device companies who can leverage Concordia’s fiber-handling expertise for tissue engineering scaffolds. This expertise in tissue engineering scaffolds can be traced back to the mid-1980s with advancements by MIT professor Robert Langer in cooperation with Mansfield-based Albany International Research Co., from whom Concordia recently acquired the tissue engineering scaffold assets. Concordia is undergoing a process of reeducation and retraining for new product development in the biomedical field, whilst working hard to remain profitable by simultaneously still pursuing their core business. This balancing act has been a real challenge for the company as it shifts its focus to become a leading provider for biomedical products.
Mark Hellendrung, CEO of The Narragansett Beer Company
>> Click here to view Mark's Presentation <<
If you are under the age of 35, you may not have even heard of Narragansett Beer since the brand is recognized mostly by those who reached their beer-drinking peak during the 1960s. During that time, Narragansett Beer was the top-selling brand throughout New England, selling more that 1 million barrels of beer per year. In fact, this beer embodied a certain sense of pride for many Rhode Islanders, with Narragansett being the long-time sponsor of the Red Sox and witnessing the Narragansett Beer brand gain popularity all throughout New England. This boom eventually diminished due to changes in management along with heightened competition and the advent of large national brewers. The Narragansett brand lost its appeal and the company was eventually sold. Pabst brewery recently agreed to sell the rights back to Narragansett Beer.
Mark Hellendrung is a Middletown, Rhode Island native who graduated from Brown University in 1990. Mark is the former President of Nantucket Nectars, where he worked with fellow Brown Alums and “Juice Guys”, Tom First and Tom Scott. Ocean Spray Cranberries purchased a majority stake in Nantucket Nectars in 1997, and the company was later purchased by Cadbury in 2002. He has also served as what he called the “De facto Head of Sales” at Magic Hat Brewing Company. Mark and a small group of investors purchased the rights to Narragansett Beer in June, 2005 from Pabst brewing organization. Mark has now taken on the challenge of reviving Narragansett, launching a strong campaign highlighted by the slogan: “Let’s Bring Back our Beer”!
Jack Early – President, Ching Long Capital & Distribution
Jack is a serial entrepreneur who started his entrepreneur career as a Co – Founder of a sweat equity start up called Early Cloud & Co based in Newport RI. Early Cloud & Co. was a software company that pioneered the first integrated sales and marketing systems in the Call Center industry. Jack is considered to be an expert in the areas of e-distribution systems and multi channel sales marketing, and technologies that support e-business. Early Cloud and Co was sold to IBM in 1995. Upon leaving Early Cloud & Co. Jack consulted with many Fortune 500 companies. The most significant engagement was at IBM. Today, IBM and its call centers are some of the largest and most successful in the world. In 1996 Jack and his wife felt the need for a sabbatical and chose teaching in China as the venue. Teaching Western Civilization in China had its own set of challenges, rewards and foibles. By living amongst the Chinese including sending the children to local schools the “on the ground” life experience has offered a unique perspective on Chinese culture and the rapid economic expansion inside China. Upon return from China, Jack has been an investor in multiple start up companies. He is a founding member of the Cherrystone Angels an investment group that funds companies with seed capital. Jack has been an angel investor / consultant investor in Context Media and Clientsoft where he was invited to be the Chairman of the Board. Clientsoft was sold to Neon Systems in December of 2004. Jack is a Limited Partner in Vantage Point Venture Partners a firm that has over $2.8 Billion in capital under management. Jack also founded Tazz Networks in Dec of 2001 with a team of Brown University students.
Peter Dorsey – Vice President, Business Development Company of Rhode Island
Peter has more than two decades of financing and investing experience in working with both emerging companies and established companies undergoing transition. Peter joined BDCRI in 1995 and is responsible for managing the company’s loan and investment portfolio, which averages 40 companies that span the full spectrum of industries operating in Rhode Island. He also oversees all of the company’s new business underwriting activities. Having structured more than 100 mezzanine debt packages, asset-based lines of credit, and SBA 7a term loans, Peter is highly knowledgeable in the many ways new and existing companies can finance themselves. As an advisor to the Cherrystone Angel Group, Rhode Island’s first angel investment group, Peter provides technical support to the steering and due diligence committees. Prior to BDCRI, Peter spent 10 years serving the Rhode Island small business community as a commercial lender at BankBoston and Eastland Bank. Previously, he was responsible for operating a regional customer service business for a national company. He earned a B.A. degree in economics from Bucknell University and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.
Lee Phenner, Vice President, Brand Identity and Content Strategy, Hill Holiday Design
Lee Phenner is a vice president at Hill, Holliday, where, as a member of the Design group, she specializes in corporate and brand identity development and information design. At Hill, Holliday and previously with Fitch, Lee has helped to shape several successful, award-winning identity programs in high technology, business-to-business, and consumer goods and services. As a strategist, Lee facilitates brand positioning and implementation; as an information designer/writer, she develops the tone of voice, information hierarchies, messaging and content that distinguishes a brand and foster competitive advantage. In addition, she specializes in corporate and product naming. Clients have included Fleet, CVS/pharmacy, GE, Nortel Networks, Fidelity Investments, John Hancock, Thermo Electron Corporation, Cognos, Coleman, Gerber Childrenswear, Rykä, and Kärna Technology's Razer. Lee holds a B.A. in English and an M.F.A. in creative writing, with emphases in poetry and screenwriting. She also served as the general editor of Careers in Television, Cable, Video and Multimedia, Fourth Edition, Facts on File, 1999.
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