Welcome to the summer issue of the FundSERV Quarterly. With my retirement from FundSERV fast approaching, this will be the last issue to carry a corporate message from me as president and CEO. As announced this past spring, Brian Gore will assume this role in September and I will assist with his orientation until the end of November.

It has been a privilege to lead FundSERV for the past six years. Looking back through past issues of this newsletter, it was especially interesting to see just how much we've changed as a company and as an industry. We have experienced many challenges and enjoyed considerable success.

The first major challenge came abruptly, just forty days after I joined the company. On September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks in the US made us all painfully aware of how vulnerable we are to forces beyond our control. We learned that day that disaster recovery is not enough and began the transition to business continuity planning (BCP). BCP has been a top priority at FundSERV ever since and is an integral part of the much broader enterprise risk management initiative we launched last year.

Today, FundSERV has a fully operational remote twin office with a fibre optic link to the Toronto office. A storage area network enables real-time mirroring of data between both sites to further strengthen the network's resilience and reliability. FundSERV employees and facilities are protected within a four-tier security framework, and the network is secured within a public key infrastructure (PKI). Additionally, more than a third of FundSERV's staff is equipped to work from home, and plans have been developed that protect staff and maintain service during an emergency.

Adopting a more formal governance model was another important change we made. In 2001, the FundSERV board established an HR and corporate governance committee and an audit, finance and risk committee. A corporate governance manual was developed that defines our structure and decision making process. The board has been expanded to include independent directors, and our audit process has been strengthened by the addition of operational and technical audits as well as our financial audits.

Clearly defining FundSERV's mission, vision and values helped us focus our efforts to meet our customers' business needs. It has brought us closer to our vision to be the acknowledged global leader of low-cost, low-risk straight through processing for the investment fund industry. FundSERV is a Canadian success story. It is a wonderful example of how competitors can work together for their shared benefit and the benefit of the Canadian investing public.

I'm proud to have been a part of its coming of age. I have served at the pleasure of the board under four chairs during my six-year tenure: Brian Gore, James Cook, Norm Graham, and David Pauli. I thank them for their support. I also thank the entire FundSERV team and all of our industry committee and working group members. I wish everyone continued success. It's been a pleasure to work with all of you.