“Praxes” is the plural form of the Greek word Praxis. It is the process by which a theory is enacted, embodied, or realized. Our passion is to work with our clients to see their ideas become reality.The company’s two Principals, Mike Flaherty and Sue MacGregor, together bring over 50 years of domestic and international experience working with hundreds of clients in the area of strategic communications, public affairs, international business development and government relations. During a 30 plus year career in the public service, Mike served as the Consul & Senior Trade Commissioner, at the Canadian Consulate General in Minneapolis MN. As Canada’s Senior Trade Commissioner he was responsible for managing a team to deliver commercial programming in the US Midwest. In this capacity Mike has worked with literally hundreds of Canadian small and medium-size businesses in a variety of industry sectors to assisting them in capitalizing on opportunities in the U.S. Prior to his posting in Minneapolis, Mike held the same position at the Consulate General in Buffalo NY. He was also the Consul and Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General in Atlanta GA where he managed the investment & corporate relations program for the Southeast U.S. Mike joined in the Department of Industry in 1990 and held several senior positions with Canada’s Investment Promotion Agency, Industry Canada’s Small Business Secretariat and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining Industry Canada, Mike spent 7 years on parliament Hill in Ottawa as a political assistant to a Member of Parliament, the Minister of State for Small Business, the Minister of Agriculture, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Canada.

The North American Advocacy Division is the integrator of the Government of Canada’s political and commercial advocacy efforts in the United Stated and Mexico. The branch coordinates the development of advocacy strategies and tools across the North American Consulate network, manages the planning, reporting and performance measurement of key advocacy programs as well as coordinates ministerial travel in the USA outside of Washington. My key responsibilities include:- Identifying strategic advocacy objectives and desired outcomes that advance Government of Canada priorities.- Leading in the development & implementation of advocacy campaigns – both traditional and through social media channels.- Supporting the North American Consulate network by providing advocacy advice and tools. - Analyzing the results of advocacy activity, and monitoring progress against expected results in support of the performance measurement strategy. - Providing outreach and communications advice and support to North America network on advocacy files. - Budget & HR Management - coaching, mentoring of team members to create a positive work environment.

Designed and led the implementation of the Mission's international business development, technology partnering and investment attraction programs. Supervised four Trade Commissioners, and two International Business Development (IBD) Assistants.Highly successful in:- assisting Canadian exporters enter the market; - increasing American corporate awareness of the merits of investing in Canada;- generating new investment leads and prospects, and;- fostering technology transfers, partnering, and innovation. Successful management of trade promotion activities and generation of market intelligence directly relevant to Canadian exporters. Minneapolis ranked 8th in the world (of 178 Missions) in terms of client satisfaction in 2013-14.Active management of the investment development program, including undertaking corporate liaison outcalls to US company targets and developing contacts with area venture capital firms.Increased promotion of Canada as a highly competitive and innovative economy through the management of strategic communications, marketing initiatives and events.Ensured the successful management of visits to the territory by senior level officials (Governor General, cabinet ministers, provincial premiers, mayors and corporate executives), by overseeing the strategic planning of the visits, development of detailed itineraries and provision of appropriate briefing notes and analysis.Consistently met budget expectations and management of all financial and administrative aspects of the program at Mission.Provided on-going advice and strategic input to the Mission by working in close conjunction with the Consul General on key commercial advocacy issues. Successfully hired new staff to the IBD team; wrote job descriptions, led competitions, trained and mentored new recruits. As Mission Security Officer oversaw and led the Post’s response to a comprehensive Security Audit in 2013-14.

Designed and led the implementation of the Mission's international business development, technology partnering and investment attraction programs. Supervised four Trade Commissioners and two International Business Development Assistants.Highly successful in assisting Canadian exporters to enter the market, increased American corporate awareness of the merits of investing in Canada, generated new investment prospects, and fostered technology transfers, partnering, and innovation. Received the DEPUTY MINISTER AWARD OF EXCELLENCE - Transformation 2009, New Exporters to Border States Program; managed the transformation and delivery of the 25 year old NEBS program to a web-based platform. Vastly increased client participation and results while greatly reducing costs. Actively managed the investment promotion program. Effectively led team through implementation of an integrative trade model within the IBD program with new emphasis on innovation outreach and technology partnering.Successfully managed strategic communications, marketing initiatives and events.Ensured successful management of visits to the territory by senior level officials. Consistently met budget expectations and management of all financial and administrative aspects of the IBD program. Successfully hired new staff to the IBD team; wrote job descriptions, led competitions, trained and mentored new recruits.

Managed and provided strategic direction to Canada’s investment attraction and corporate liaison program in the Southeast USA. The program focused on enhancing corporate awareness of the merits of expanding business to Canada. A thorough understanding of Provincial strengths, as well as cooperative working relationships with Provincial and Municipal officials was critical to the success of the program.Developed and implemented a successful corporate outcall program which identified expansion opportunities of existing foreign corporate investments in Canada as well as managed investment retention issues.Designed and implemented a targeted prospecting program which identified and managed new greenfield investment opportunities with U.S. and foreign companies.Effectively promoted Canada’s competitive advantages by organizing and implementing strategic communications and marketing initiatives.Enhanced American Venture Capitalists’ understanding of the investment opportunities in Canada.Successfully managed and coordinated all high level investment missions to the territory by Premiers, Federal and Provincial Ministers, senior officials, mayors and Canadian corporate executives.