#13; #13; #13; #13;Ross Jackson was born in Canada, where he studied Engineering Physics as an undergraduate, which was followed by a Master's degree in Industrial Management at Purdue University, USA, then a PhD in Operations Research - the science of problem-solving - at Case Western Reserve University, USA. He has for many years been an innovative leader in both the business and NGO worlds. His business career has been as an independent IT consultant and software designer, specialising in international finance. In 1971 he co-founded Simcorp, which is now a leading global financial software company and listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange. In 1988 he founded the first international hedge fund dealing exclusively with interbank currency trading. He is chairman of Gaia Trust, a Danish-based charitable entity, co-founded by him in 1987 to promote a more sustainable and spiritual world. The Trust has financed hundreds of sustainability projects in over 30 countries as well as several 'green' startups in Denmark, and continues to support two major international NGO initiatives - the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia Education. #13;Jackson has lived in Denmark since 1964, and became a Danish citizen in 1972.

His current business interests include Urtekram, the leading organic foods wholesaler in Scandinavia, of which he is the director and major shareholder. He lives with his Danish wife Hildur on an organic farm near Copenhagen. He is the author of a number of books, including And We ARE Doing It: Building an ecovillage future , and is co-editor of When No Means Yes: Danish visions of a different Europe and Gaian Economics: Living well within planetary limits. #13;www.ross-jackson.com #13;www.occupyworldstreet.org #13; #13; #13; #13;.