<b>Peter Beck</b> is a well-known financial expert and President of SwiftTrade Inc., Canada’s leading proprietary trading firm. <p>A European-trained chef, Mr. Beck immigrated to Canada in 1979 and set up a number of successful businesses, including a coffee shop, a water bottling company, a pet food delivery service, and ITN Corporation, the first legally operating long distance company in Canada. In 1998, he founded SwiftTrade, which was #7 on <i>Profit Magazine</i>’s "10 Hottest Startups in Canada" for 2001, and was named #2 on the "Top 100 Fastest Growing Businesses in Canada" for 2004, also by <i>Profit</i>, with an astounding five-year growth rate of almost 9000%.</p> <p>Mr. Beck has been featured in media across the country, including <i>The Globe and Mail</i>, the <i>Toronto Star</i>, CTV News, ROB TV, and <i>Canadian Business</i>. He regularly appears on television to offer commentary on the markets, writes articles for financial publications across the country, and is the co-author of <i>Hedge Funds for Canadians: New Investment Strategies for Winning in Any Market</i> (John Wiley & Sons).</p> <p><b>Simon Romano</b> is a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP, a 440-lawyer firm with an international reputation in all areas of business law, most notably securities, tax, banking, corporate finance, M&A, securitizations and derivatives, commercial litigation, competition law, commercial real estate, labour/employment and pension law, environmental law, intellectual property and related fields. Mr. Romano practices principally in the area of securities, M&A and finance, as well as acting for private equity funds, income trusts, and alternative trading systems.</p> <p>Mr. Romano has practiced in both Toronto and New York, and was formerly a clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. During 1995 and 1996, he was Special Counsel to the Ontario Securities Commission, where he dealt with take-over bids as well as other projects. He has written a number of articles, is a frequent speaker at seminars, and was a member of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Securities Advisory Committee.</p> <p>He is particularly active in the area of income trusts, having advised the Livingston International Income Fund and the SIR Royalty Income Fund, among others. He has been recognized by Lexpert/American Lawyer as one of Canada’s top 500 lawyers, and by Chambers Global as one of the world’s leading lawyers.</p>