I would first like to extend my sincere thanks to Adam Duncan for his incredible support, as well as the tremendous effort he devoted to reviewing this manuscript. Producing the plethora of graphs, charts, and maps used throughout this book involved incredible effort and creativity, and for this I thank graphic designer Mackenzie Clarke, with an added thank-you to Nicole Gortemaker and Tyler Burtniak for graciously aiding in that regard.

To my esteemed friends, Joseph Shaw, who generously took time from his busy schedule to co-author Chapter 18, and Joseph Zuiker, who in true form made a significant contribution through his efforts proofreading the manuscript, it was an honor to collaborate with you both.

For providing invaluable insights, which were instrumental in developing the global industry primers found in Part V, my sincere thanks to Carol Yeh, Ryan Grube, Carl Hamann, and Scot Atkinson.

For sharing their vast array of knowledge on select chapters, I wish to wholeheartedly thank my friends and colleagues: Robert Venable, Anil Tahiliani, Matthew Flynn, Finlay McKay, Steve Firman, Bill Sackley, Garry Steski, Dick Marshall, Phillip Sharkey, Geeta Kapadia, Deborah Kidd, Tim Skelly, and Lindsey Bauer.

To my fellow authors and friends, Antonella Puca, Carl Bacon, and Shamez Kassam, thank you all for your encouragement and indispensable advice.

I am eternally grateful for the people who took a chance and mentored me in the field of investing, including John Smith, Edward “Ted” Ransby, and Beverley Squair, as well as my thesis advisors and mentors back in my days studying international politics, namely professors Brian Job and Donald Munton. To the Value Partners Investments leadership team, Gregg Filmon, Steve Norton, Paul Lawton, Dean Bjarnarson and Jim Lawton, thank you for your continuing support.

Thank you, Sheck Cho, Susan Cerra, and Samantha Wu, along with the production team at Wiley, for your guidance and support during the production of this book.

This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Dawn, whose unparalleled kindness and compassion acts as a source of inspiration and wisdom to me every day. Finally, I would like to thank my dad, Jerry Erickson, and my mom, Patricia Erickson (Robinson), for their love and support. Without the three of them this book would not have been written.