Dan Latendre
From The Waterloo Way Wiki
Contents |
Introduction
Dan Latendre is the founder and current CEO of IGLOO Inc. – a software company that provides corporate social networking solutions to organizations around the world. Over the past 20 years, Latendre has worked in a wide variety of executive roles with innovative software companies like MKS, Delrina, Open Text Corporation, and CIGI. His success in these roles can be attributed to his creative problem-solving approach, his willingness to take the initiative and be proactive, and his effective leadership and team-building skills.
The Path To Success
Latendre first showed his entrepreneurial colours in the 6th grade, when he started a business collecting, breeding, and selling dew worms to recreational fishermen. This venture taught Latendre a lot about the intricacies of running a company – intricacies such as managing employees, controlling inventory levels, and forming partnerships with other businesses.
Latendre’s next entrepreneurship venture was Paint Brushers Inc. – a student painting franchise he started while in university. The franchise succeeded in spreading across Ontario to 40 locations, before Latendre sold it to his partner.
After completing a joint degree in Honours Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and in Human Kinetics and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo, Latendre went on to become the 12th employee at the software company MKS Inc. in 1988. There, Latendre worked to successfully design, implement, and manage MKS’ North American distribution channels strategy.
Then, in 1992, Latendre turned his attention towards the young, but growing, Internet.
Approaching MKS management, Latendre proposed that they build Internet access modules to provide easy Internet access. MKS refused to provide him with any financing for this idea, so Latendre raised $1 million with aid from the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) to complete such a project.
He achieved his goal in 1993, by partnering with Research In Motion (RIM) to create Internet Anywhere, one of the first Internet access packages.
Toward the end of 1994, Latendre moved to Toronto to work with Delrina as a Marketing Director. He then went on to join Open Text Corporation in 1995. At the time, he was Open Text’s 30th employee. Today the company employs about 3000 people worldwide.
Latendre spent about 10 years with Open Text, where he held a variety of executive positions – including Vice President of Global Marketing, Vice President of Operations (HMS Division), and Vice President of Global Services. During this time, his duties and accomplishments included:
- Managing the launch of Open Text’s flagship product Livelink version 7 and 8.
- Creating and launching the award winning Open Text Affinity Partner program.
- Designing and implementing a new corporate and product brand strategy for Open Text.
- Creating the Hosted and Managed Services (HMS) division within Open Text that now generates over $20 billion per year.
- Managing the corporate and regional marketing plans for all Open Text product lines for North America, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific.
- Transforming the Open Text intranet, extranets, and corporate website to an interactive online e-commerce community for Open Text customers, prospects, partners, and employees.
- Securing term sheets with valuations of over $40 million for Open Text during a 4 month period.
Latendre eventually left Open Text in 2004 to become Chief Information and Technology Officer for the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario. At CIGI, he led his team to create an innovative online global knowledge network to allow communication and knowledge exchange between individuals and organizations studying, working, or advising on global issues. This knowledge network was called IGLOO (an acronym for “International Governance Leaders and Organizations Online”).
IGLOO showed great promise, and Latendre raised money for it to become self-sustaining. At the beginning of 2008, most of the IGLOO team left CIGI as an independent technology company. At the time, they already had a tested product, 100,000 users, and an established reputation. 1
Latendre is currently acting as the CEO of IGLOO Inc., and is responsible for the company’s vision, technology, strategy, and marketing. Ultimately, he would like to focus on just the strategy and vision, delegating the rest of the work to other members of his team.
About IGLOO
[IGLOO Inc.]title is a software company based in Kitchener, Ontario, with almost 40 employees. IGLOO stands for “International Governance Leaders and Organizations Online.” The company’s flagship product is a corporate social networking suite that can be described as a Facebook for corporations, as well as much more.
The idea behind the IGLOO corporate social network is that every organization’s greatest asset is its people. They are every organization’s:
- Talent: The organization’s people are the sources of its skills and labour.
- Relationships: The people form relationships inside and outside the organization, and these may be the most important aspect of all of the organization’s activities.
- Knowledge: The people are also the main sources and repositories of the organization’s knowledge and expertise.
To manage their talent, relationships, and knowledge properly, organizations need to overcome several key problems associated with them:
Talent – Problem: As organizations grow larger, pinpointing their talent (which team members contribute the most) becomes more difficult. Solution: IGLOO helps to highlight every team member’s contribution and show their true value to their organization).
Relationships – Problem: People working in an organization often need to work and communicate with others inside and outside it. This can become problematic, especially in larger organizations, as it becomes necessary to deal with ever more different people in ever more different departments and sub-teams. Solution: IGLOO connects everyone together and provides an easy way to communicate and keep in touch.
Knowledge – Problem: People are the primary storage houses for an organization’s knowledge. So if they leave, their knowledge often leaves the organization with them. Solution: IGLOO helps to store and protect all knowledge within the organization regardless of where its originators go.
The IGLOO network’s strengths include:
- Technology – The IGLOO platform makes effective use of the most up-to-date Web 2.0 technology, and is constantly updated and improved.
- Ownership – IGLOO allows people and organizations to create their own communities and retain full control of them – unlike Facebook, which maintains control of all content its users put up.
- Cost-effectiveness – IGLOO offers a range of competitively-priced service packages, with more economic options for smaller organizations and premium options for larger ones.
- Ease-of-use – Every IGLOO software package is easy to set up and maintain, requiring little or no technical skills.
- Speed – IGLOO community creation is very quick, as is the community access, use, and updating process.
- Service – IGLOO is supported by excellent, reliable service.
- Security – SSL, password protected, audited.
IGLOO Inc.’s goal for 2008 is to build up a solid foundation to support extensive growth in the near future.
Community Involvement
Latendre has donated many free IGLOO communities to other organizations, such as HopeSpring – a non-profit cancer rehabilitation organization with centers in Waterloo and Cambridge.
In addition, Latendre is on the advisory board of the Canadian International Council (CIC), and also conducts many speaking engagements.
Innovation and Achievement
Latendre partnered with Research In Motion (RIM) to create Internet Anywhere, one of the first Internet access packages, in 1993.
He played a vital role in the release of the Open Text Index - the first commercial search engine. This search technology would eventually evolve into powering the Yahoo! search site. 2
He managed the launch of the award-winning Livelink – the first web-based intranet application that is now used by over 5 million users in thousands of major corporations worldwide. 3
Latendre developed the largest international development knowledge network in the world (IGLOO), and has managed to raise $15 million to ensure its success.
He has developed PolicyNet – an online community for those who study, research, and teach public policy worldwide.
He has also worked to develop ENTRENET – a Canadian entrepreneurship network for educators, students, and entrepreneurs to share and develop the best practices for social and business entrepreneurship.
On Successful Entrepreneurship
Latendre believes that if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you must:
- Believe in what you are doing.
- Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and who complement you.
- Be adaptable: Always remain well aware of your current business environment, how it will change, and how to best change with it.
Latendre also believes that the best CEOs:
- Make themselves redundant – i.e. build up their businesses so they run themselves, with no need for a CEO's constant input.
- Take proactive steps to develop the best possible exit strategy for their businesses.
- Have a strong technical (and marketing) background – a financial background alone may often not be enough to make the best decisions.
- Have a good social network.
Leadership
Latendre is a “leader by doing” – his diverse technological and marketing background allows him to get intimately familiar with the work his team is doing, and he is fully capable of leading by example. If he is not willing to do something himself, then he will not ask anyone else to do it either.
Latendre picks each member of his team with great care, making sure that each one:
- Is a good fit with the company culture.
- Is enthusiastic and passionate about the team goals.
- Has the skills necessary to aid and enhance team performance.
Latendre enjoys working with young, innovative people, and rewards team members based on performance as opposed to merely seniority. For instance, one of his Vice Presidents on the IGLOO team is only 26 years old.
He has an open door policy, gets to know each of his team members well, and is willing to dedicate attention to those who could benefit most from his mentorship.
Lessons Learned
Over the years of his professional career, Latendre learned several important things about business, and about himself.
Latendre learned that an organization’s culture is very important to its success – that it is necessary to maintain a healthy culture and make sure all members of the organization are a good fit with it.
Latendre further learned that as companies grow larger and go public, they undergo significant changes. The company culture may shift, and employees may find it more difficult to relate to their work, the company’s goals, and other employees. It becomes increasingly necessary to define a clear vision, provide motivation, and enable clear communication channels for the company team.
Latendre also discovered that he was a builder, not a manager. This was one of the reasons he left OpenText: He found himself spending too much time managing when he wanted to be creating instead.
Motivation
Latendre has expressed his desire to help others as one of the primary motivations behind his work. This is why he has been so passionate about the IGLOO network: He believes that it can greatly benefit many communities all over the world.
Another way Latendre helps others is by mentoring them (something he enjoys). This allows him to share his knowledge and experience with others to aid them in achieving their goals.
Goals
Dan Latendre’s current goal is to secure IGLOO’s status as the largest research and knowledge network in the world, enabling organizations and professionals across the globe to collaborate and come up with research results that would otherwise not have been possible. He further aims to have these results implemented into public policy to bring about change and reform for the better.
References
1. Walcoff, Matt (May 10, 2008). ["Igloo links professionals scattered around world". The Record. Retrieved on June 12, 2008.]
2."The IGLOO Minute". 570 News.[1] Retrieved on June 12, 2008.
3. Ibid.
