D. Mike Abrashoff
Exact is pleased to present D. Mike Abrashoff as the Engage 2007 keynote speaker. Author of It’s Your Ship:  Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy and Get Your Ship Together, Mike Abrashoff engineered one of the most celebrated success stories in turnaround leadership.
 
Performance on the ship Mike Abrashoff inherited was dreadful, but in the Navy, he didn't have the option to hire, fire or promote personnel. What he could do was change the culture to elevate performance - and that's exactly what he did, making his ship the Navy's top performer. Publications from Fast Company to the Harvard Business Review have heralded the remarkable turnaround of the USS Benfold and business schools have made it a case study in organizational success. Abrashoff's book, It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, is a bestseller with over 340,000 copies in print. His follow up, Get Your Ship Together, has leaders telling how their organizations have put his grassroots leadership principles to work.
 
People at every level in business relate to the idea of being held accountable for results without having the ability to make the rules. Abrashoff shows that's no excuse for poor performance. Saddled with the Navy's rules and bureaucracy, Abrashoff shows there are options people can exercise to take control and manage results. In his case, he made a determined effort to see the ship from the eyes of his crew - a grassroots leadership approach. He bestowed a sense of ownership to every crewmember, reversed excessive costs and turnover, improved morale and made performance top priority. Abrashoff's story inspires audiences to change their organizations and instills a renewed responsibility for organizational success.

James P. Kent, Jr. - CEO, Exact Software North America
Jim Kent joined Exact Software North America as vice president of sales and marketing in September 2001, but his association with the software company began more than a decade ago.

Before joining Exact Software North America, Jim was the owner and operator of Exact Software North America’s largest and most successful business partner organization – The Kent Group. Under Jim’s leadership and direction, the company’s computer and consulting services division grew quickly, eventually expanding its offerings to assist mid-size manufacturers in taking complete advantage of information technology.

When Exact Software North America acquired The Kent Group, he assumed the responsibilities of overseeing sales and marketing operations for North America. As vice president of sales and marketing, Jim helped business partner organizations grow; expanded the Exact Software North America product market share; expanded national coverage by business partner organizations, and improved customer satisfaction. In 2004, Jim was promoted to the role of CEO, Exact Software North America, and was charged with overseeing Exact’s continued growth in the North American marketplace.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jim will provide attendees with an overview of the recent progress and future plans for Exact Software in North America. 

Rajesh Patel - CEO, Exact Holding, N.V.
Raj Patel was appointed CEO of the Exact Holding in July of 2005. Employed by Exact since 1996, Raj has held various positions within the organization, most recently as group director of Exact International before being appointed CEO. During this period he had been heavily involved in changing the group’s strategy by deploying a three year program focused on changing the group’s core target group, driving major changes in its global infrastructure, offering, marketing, employees and management.

Raj was born in Kenya, Africa and was raised and educated in the United Kingdom. He currently resides in Delft, the Netherlands. After a short tenure at university, he decided to begin his corporate career early in life, joining a start up in the United Kingdom with a small group of investors. His first venture was based on the successful concept of CompUSA, a retail chain of outlets where home computers and their associated peripherals could be purchased via retail stores. Based on this concept, PC World was incorporated in the United Kingdom and in three years, PC World was the largest computer retail outlet in the UK. Based on this success, Raj and five of his colleagues were invited by the same group of investors to set up a similar concept in Europe, starting with the Netherlands.

Raj then joined IPC in Singapore, a company focused on the sales, marketing and manufacturing of PC’s and related equipment. Three years later Raj joined Exact Software.

Raj will discuss the technology market worldwide, and the role that Exact Software plays in that market today. He will also provide a vision of where the company and its products will be moving in the coming months and years.