TORONTO, Aug. 16 /CNW/ - Project Alpha announced today that the funding
and senior leadership team, which represent the foundation of its new
Alternative Trading System (ATS), are in place.
    Project Alpha's ownership group is comprised of nine Canadian financial
institutions, providing representation of diverse interests in the Canadian
financial market place. They are: BMO Capital Markets, Canaccord Capital
Corporation, CIBC World Markets, CPP Investment Board, Desjardins Securities
Inc., National Bank Financial, RBC Capital Markets, Scotia Capital Inc. and TD
Securities Inc.
    The fully operational senior leadership team, representing a wealth of
domestic and international experience and expertise in establishing and
operating trading venues, is comprised of the following executives:-   CEO - Jos Schmitt,
    -   CFO - Tom Brown,
    -   Head of Legal Matters - Michael Brady,
    -   CAO - Ian Hendry,
    -   CIO - Karl Ottywill,
    -   Head of Operations and Regulatory Matters - Randee Pavalow,
    -   Head of Marketing and Sales - Tim Thurman."We have now established the corner stones upon which the Alpha ATS is
being built," said Project Alpha CEO Jos Schmitt. "Strong sponsors, solid
funding and a proven leadership team provide us with an excellent foundation.
This remains, nevertheless, only the beginning of the journey. The quality and
commitment of our team and our sponsors, however, make me feel very
comfortable that we will successfully reach our destination: establishing an
ATS that will provide Canadian capital markets with increased liquidity and
improved efficiency, leveraging the virtues of competition."
    For further information regarding Project Alpha, visit
www.project-alpha.ca.