Steve Blake was the Chief Operating Officer for the Child Development Institute (CDI).  He brings over 20 years of experience in senior business and financial executive roles spanning private companies, publicly traded companies and NGO’s.  Mr. Blake has managed all aspects of finance, including treasury, business valuation and price modeling and tax compliance.  His experience includes overseeing and managing technology, human resources and operational change management projects, as well as M&A initiatives.  He has been successful in using the experience he gained in the private sector to assist and work in the not-for-profit sector.

Mr. Blake is currently providing consulting services to not-for-profit and small business clients.

Prior to joining CDI in 2014, Mr. Blake served as the Chief Financial Officer for The Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS), leaving shortly after its amalgamation with the TMX Group and Alpha Exchange in 2012.  Prior to being appointed to CFO in 2005, he held various senior roles in finance at CDS since joining in 2000.

Mr. Blake joined the public accounting firm of KPMG Peat Marwick on graduating university and progressed to Senior Manager, Assurance and Consulting Services.  Mr. Blake also worked in the insolvency practice at KPMG and ended his career at KPMG providing consulting services in the KPMG, Centre for Government in 1998.  He left KPMG to join the T. Eaton Company and was involved in Eaton’s going public.

Mr. Blake served on the Board of Directors of the Child Development institute, as well as the Finance and Audit Committee from 2012 to 2014.

Mr. Blake is a CPA, CA and holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree from McMaster University.

Jeffrey MacIntosh received a B.Sc. from M.I.T. in 1975, a LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1981, and a LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 1982. After teaching for one year at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1982-83, Professor MacIntosh moved to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987 and full Professor in 1995. He served as Toronto Stock Exchange Professor of Capital Markets from 1999 to 2020. Professor MacIntosh was a member of the Ontario Securities Commission Task Force on Small Business Financing which delivered its final report in 1996. In 1999, Professor MacIntosh was appointed Associate Director of the Capital Markets Institute at the University of Toronto, a joint venture between the Faculty of Law and the Rotman School of Management, and served as Director in 2001-02.  In addition, Professor MacIntosh spent one year (1987-88) as John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics at Yale Law School. Professor MacIntosh has written extensively on various topics related to corporate and securities law, including minority shareholder rights, the oppression remedy, fiduciary duties, takeover bids, corporate governance, and the choice of jurisdiction of incorporation. More recently, Professor MacIntosh's writings have focused on financing small, high technology companies, with a particular focus on venture capital and on high frequency trading.

Jim Dale is the Chief Executive Officer of Leede Jones Gable Inc.  Leede is an independent investment dealer providing client advisory, wealth management and equity capital markets services to clients throughout Canada.  Leede has long history of raising early stage capital in the resource sectors and in emerging markets.   Mr. Dale has been with Leede for over 15 years, starting as Chief Financial Officer.  

Prior to joining Leede, Jim worked in the energy industry for more than 10 years with Nexen Inc., an international oil & gas and chemical production company.  He held several senior level management positions in finance, procurement and risk management.  In 1999, Jim was seconded to the World Petroleum Congress where he served in an executive finance role.   Jim also has executive and board experience with new venture public companies in the energy sector.

Jim currently serves on several investment industry committees and chairs the Small and Independent Dealer committee of the Investment Industry Association of Canada.  Jim’s past community service includes board positions for the governing societies of two of Calgary’s leading sport and recreation facilities, including a term as Chairman at each society.   Jim is a CPA, CA and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba.

Brendan Caldwell is the President & CEO of Caldwell Investment Management Ltd (“CIM”). The mutual funds for which Brendan acted as lead portfolio manager have won 5 Lipper Awards for CIM in recent years.  He is also co-portfolio manager of Caldwell’s major exchange related investments, including Urbana Corporation and the Caldwell Growth Opportunities Trust.
Brendan earned his B.Sc. from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 1991 and his M.A. in English Literature from the University of London, England, in 1992. Brendan has held his Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designation since 1995.

Prior to joining Caldwell in 1995, Brendan worked for a major Canadian mutual fund company and then a bank-controlled investment dealer. His securities exchange memberships have included Toronto, New York, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX).

Brendan is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute and a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, as well as the CFA Institute. Often interviewed for his insights into current economic issues and in regards to Caldwell’s role as an active investor in global securities exchanges, Brendan is a regular financial commentator and an industry consultant on numerous media outlets.

Brendan is a past Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, Trustee of the Bishop Strachan School and of Wycliffe College, University of Toronto and member of the Campaign Cabinet for Neshama Playground, Canada’s first accessible playground for children with all abilities. He is a member of the Church of The Messiah, the Corporation of Trinity College and the Upper Canada College Council of 1829. Brendan is a Director of the Caldwell Foundation whose activities included a partnership with We Charity (a.k.a. Free the Children) to create a base for building schools in Rajasthan, India. Brendan received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his long record of philanthropy and volunteer service.

Married to Sandra since 1993, Brendan and his wife are the parents of four children. Brendan’s favorite ways to relax are sailing his Nonsuch “Pendragon” on Lake Ontario, Italian rapier fencing, and planting an arboretum in Fairvalley, Ontario.

Eric Sites is currently a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Horizon Kinetics LLC.  Horizon is a value-oriented investment management firm founded in 1994 and is based in New York.  Having joined Horizon in 2004, Eric is a member of the research team that identifies new investment opportunities for the firm.  He also composes a variety of research reports used both for internal portfolio management and by external institutional asset management clients.

Eric is also a member of the investment team for certain Horizon private investment vehicles and other registered investment companies.  In these roles, he has been a key member of the team that has led Horizon’s investments in various stock and derivative exchanges over the last 15 years.

Eric currently serves on the Council of the Bermuda Stock Exchange where he heads the New Business Development Committee.  He is also on the Board of Directors of the Renn Fund, which is a closed-end fund traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Eric received his B.A. from Southern Illinois University in 2000 and M.A. from Columbia University, Teachers College in 2002.

Lori has more than 30 years of financial, human resources and technology experience and has held roles at CIBC, TD Bank, and BMO. Although now retired, most recently she was Senior Vice-President of Strategic Planning & Operational Effectiveness at Morneau Shepell (now Telus Health), a leading provider of technology-enabled HR and mental health services. Previous to this role Lori held a number of executive positions where she was accountable for strategy, governance, project management, change management, human resources, operations and technology.

Lori consistently volunteers in her community and is a member of several non-profit Boards and advisory committees. She holds a B.A. in Industrial Relations from McGill University and a MBA from McMaster University. She has been awarded her ICD.D designation and is currently enrolled in the Global ESG Competent Boards Certificate Program and will obtain her GCB.D designation later this year.

Hema Barkhouse is a Finance Executive with over 25 years of experience within retail, consumer packaged goods, telecom and financial services industries. She has held executive roles in some of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies including Loblaw Companies, George Weston, Bell Canada and Canadian Tire Corporation. Ms. Barkhouse has extensive experience in internal and external financial reporting, FP&A, accounting policy, risk management and controls. She is currently the Vice President, Accounting and Controls at Canadian Tire.

Ms. Barkhouse has been involved with various initiatives throughout her career, including volunteering on a Diversity and Inclusion council and Talent committee.
 
Ms. Barkhouse has a CPA, CA designation from PwC and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University.

Richard Carleton was appointed CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange in July 2011. Since then, Richard and the CSE team have positioned the Exchange to take a leading role in the provision of public capital to entrepreneurial companies.

During this time, the CSE has set a series of records for new listings, capital raised by issuers and trading turnover. An advocate for the public markets, Richard has been recognized for his contributions by a number of industry associations, and is a regular commentator on capital formation and market structure issues in Canada and around the world.

In addition to his responsibilities with the CSE, Richard is a director of several not-for-profit and business organizations. He was also recently named to the Ontario Securities Commission’s “Market Structure Advisory Committee”.

A member of the Law Society of Ontario since 1987, Richard is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (B.A. ‘81) and the University of Toronto (L.L.B. ‘85). He has also completed the executive development program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bluestein is the founder of CC Corporate Counsel P.C. law firm. He is a senior corporate and securities lawyer with over 13 years of experience. His strengths include drive for results, strategic thinking and superior client service. His goal is to provide clients with practical solutions to problems while being cognizant of turn-around time and budget. Mr. Bluestein has a very strong background in M&A, corporate finance, registration, compliance and securities law. He has advised numerous reporting issuers and helped to create two new stock exchanges from the ground up. Mr. Bluestein has also helped numerous start-ups achieve their goals form incorporation to successful exists.

Mr. Bluestein is admitted to practice law in the Province of Ontario. Mr. Bluestein received his J.D. from the University of Toronto – Faculty of Law and his B.B.A. (with Honours) from the Schulich School of Business, York University.