Mr. Chou is the President of the Toronto-based Chou Associates Management Inc. Mr. Chou, a CFA, ended his formal education at Grade 12. While working as a technician for a phone company in 1981, he started an investment club that would later become the Associates fund. Mr. Chou has operated two of the country’s most successful funds, Chou Associates Fund and Chou RRSP fund, for the last 20 years. In 2005, the Canadian Investment Award named him the fund manager of the decade. His approach is to “find bargains and maintain discipline; if you can not find bargains stay in cash”.

The  financial  media  have   extensively   covered  Francis’   style, performance and character over the years. The latest media articles on Francis can be read here and here.

Watch the interview that followed Mr. Chou's presentation

Mr. Richard Rooney, CFA, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., Toronto, Ontario (March 10, 2011)

Mr. Rooney is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1977 and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario in 1981.

Mr. Rooney began his career in Price Waterhouse in 1981 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984. In 1984, he joined Sun Life as an Investment Analyst and, in 1986, he became investment officer of Sunimco, a subsidiary of Sun Life. In 1989, he joined AMI partners where he had extensive responsibilities for investment research and portfolio management in the Canadian Equities group. Burgundy, Mr. Rooney, joined in 1995 as a Senior Vice President and in 1997 he was appointed president of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Under his leadership, Burgundy has been ranked as one of Canada’s 50 best managed companies. In 2002, Mr. Rooney completed a three-year term on the Accounting Standards Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Rooney is President and a Trustee of The Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation, a Director of Empire Life Insurance, a Director of the Historica-Dominion Institute and Past Chair of the Stratford Festival of Canada. In 2009, he was honoured by his peers and received the designation of Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Watch Mr. Rooney's Presentation

Mr. Prem Watsa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (February 16, 2011, 6:20pm-8:00pm, Room 1R40)

Fairfax annual meeting of shareholders, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (April 20, 2011 - Roy Thomson Hall)

In addition to acting as a guest speaker on February 16, Mr. Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has invited Dr. Athanassakos and a group of his Value Investing MBA and HBA students to attend the Fairfax annual meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After the annual meeting, students will have an opportunity to meet Mr. Watsa and his team.

Mr. Watsa is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., a financial services holding company, which he took over in 1985. The company, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, as well as investment management. Mr. Watsa is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a holder of an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Sick Children, a member of the Advisory Board for the Richard Ivey School of Business and a member of the Board of Directors of the Royal Ontario Museum Foundation, as well as Chairman of the Investment Committee of St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

Fairfax has been one of the few companies to escape the ravages of the great recession of 2008 as Mr. Watsa and his team had anticipated the credit crisis and had taken the necessary steps to protect Fairfax . Mr. Watsa, also known as the Buffett of the North, had discussed his fears about the markets in a key note speech he gave to The Ben Graham Center of Value Investing First Annual Symposium on Value Investing on May 25, 2007. His key note speech can be viewed here.

Watch Mr. Watsa's Presentation

Mr. Tim McElvaine, CA, CFA, founder and President of McElvaine Investment Management Ltd., Vancouver, BC. (January 27, 2011)

Mr. McElvaine is the founder and President of McElvaine Investment Management Ltd. Tim established The McElvaine Investment Trust in 1996 and acquired The McElvaine Limited Partnership (previously Cundill Capital Limited Partnership) in the summer of 2000. He currently manages about $300 Million between the Trust and acting as a sub-advisor for Mackenzie Financial. Tim developed his value-oriented philosophy during his 12-year career with Peter Cundill & Associates Ltd. where, amongst other capacities, he served as Manager of the Cundill Security Fund (1992-99), Co-Manager of the Cundill Value Fund (1998-2003) and Chief Investment Officer (1998-2003). Tim has served as non-executive Director of Sun-Rype Products and Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods and is currently Chairman of Rainmaker Entertainment. He also worked for the Bank of NT Butterfield in Bermuda and Touche Ross in Toronto. Tim earned a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm) from Queen’s University in 1986, qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988 and as a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1991. Tim is a member of the Board of Trustees of Rainmaker Income Fund, a publicly traded income trust, and the Board of Governors of St. Margaret’s School in Victoria BC.

Watch Mr. McElvaine's Presentation