About me

I am the Chairman and CEO of WWWoods & Co. Limited.

I am the President and CEO of Independent Review Inc.

I am co-founder and co-owner of KnowledgeSuites - which operates Canada's first and only "Hedge Fund Hotel"

I am a co-founder and director of ISI Seminars & Publications Inc., a leading independent financial publisher. ISI maintains an online bookstore called Booksonbiz.

I am the author of a blog called BizOffshore.com

Stock Exchange Experience

From August 1995 to December 2001, I was the first Chief Executive Officer of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX). I helped transform the BSX into the world's premier, fully electronic, offshore securities market.

Prior to joining the BSX, I was a Director and founding partner of The International Securities Consultancy (ISC) - http://www.isc-global.com/ - a unique consulting group based in Hong Kong and London that specializes in advising on the development of both emerging and mature securities markets. I have provided consulting advice on the establishment and development of exchanges in several countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, China, the Philippines and Russia. I advised on the development of the all new, fully electronic National Stock Exchange of India. In 1993, whilst at ISC, I was retained by the BSX to assist in developing its Strategic Plan.

I have also provided advice to a number of international development agencies including the World Bank, The International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank.

My work at the Hong Kong and Bermuda stock exchanges has included extensive work in the Listings area, including intensive sales and marketing to attract new listings, preparing new listing rules, and regulating listed issuers. At the BSX, I grew the total number of listed securities from 45 to over 340 and increased the market capitalization of listed securities from US$1 billion to over US$165 billion. I also increased the trading volumes from US$75 million per annum to over US$230 billion per annum.

My recent work for the Hong Kong stock exchange included preparing a consultation document on the regulation of intermediaries in the IPO process and preparing an expanded Code of Conduct on Corporate Governance for listed companies.

B2B Experience

I run the web site http://www.b2bexchanges.com/

In 1999, I co-authored the international bestseller "B2B Exchanges: The Killer Application in the Business-to-Business Internet Revolution" and in 2002 I wrote and published "B2B Exchanges 2.0: Not all e-markets are dot-bombs". I continue to write articles and give interviews and speeches on B2B exchanges.

As part of Bermuda's Electronic Commerce initiative, I served as a member of the E-commerce Advisory Board - which advises the Bermuda Government - and I was the Chairman of BIBA's Legal Initiatives sub-committee. In these roles I assisted the Bermuda Government to draft and implement the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and Code of Conduct, in order to facilitate the development of e-commerce in Bermuda.

Legal Qualifications

I am a lawyer, admitted in Bermuda (as a Barrister and Attorney) and, England, Wales and Hong Kong (as a solicitor).  I am an Associate Member of the Canadian Bar Association.

Prior to founding ISC, I was a solicitor with Linklaters & Paines in Hong Kong where I specialized in corporate finance work including the listing of companies on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK). For three years I acted as Legal Counsel to the SEHK, including a period of secondment as the SEHK's first in-house counsel. During that time I was responsible for a comprehensive redrafting of the listing rules and other regulations of the SEHK.

Offshore

I am the author of a Specialist Blog on Offshore Financial Centres, called BizOffshore (www.bizoffshore.com).

Having lived and worked in Hong Kong and Bermuda and advised on the development of a number of other offshore jurisdictions, I know a good deal about offshore financial centers.