Derrick King was born in Newfoundland in 1954, a fifth-generation Canadian with a pioneer’s gene for adventure. He earned his BASc(EE) from the University of British Columbia in 1977 and his MBA from Simon Fraser University in 1988. He left Canada because of the events described in this book and never returned there to live. He lived in the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, India, and Singapore while raising a family. He studied at INSEAD in Fontainebleau and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro and was seconded to the World Bank in Poland several times. He retired to philanthropy after thirty-three years with the same bank. He lives in Southeast Asia with his wife, where he motorcycles, scuba dives, and watches the palm trees sway.