Jim Mellon is an investor with interests in several industries. After leaving Oxford in 1979, where he studied PPE, he worked in Asia and the United States in two fund management companies, GT and Thornton, before establishing his own business in 1991. This now has two components – a listed fund management company - Charlemagne Capital - and an Asian mining group, Regent Pacific. In addition, Jim is the controlling shareholder and a director of Conister Trust, an Isle of Man based bank, Speymill Group, a property business, and Betinternet. He is a co-founder of Uramin and Red Dragon Resources, both listed mining groups. Burnbrae, his private company, is a substantial landlord in Germany and in the Isle of Man, and also owns the hotel chain Sleepwell Hotels. Jim spends most of his time working on startup ideas and on investing. He lives in the Isle of Man and Ibiza.

Al Chalabi is a business consultant, entrepreneur and author who has been based in Asia for 13 years and has extensive experience of developing economies. He assists corporations establish and grow their operations in Asia, particularly in emerging economies like China. He has a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA in Finance & Management. Originally from Iraq, Al grew up in the UK after his family moved there when he was a young child. Al has also lived in Canada, France and the United States and currently lives in Hong Kong.
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