Melanie is the founder of Kalex Valuations Inc. and began professional practice in 1985, which includes several years of industry experience. Throughout her professional career she has been involved in many assignments for a variety of public and private companies of various sizes and across many industries. Ms. Russell has been active in teaching business valuations and related topics since 1987 at various universities and professional organizations, and runs the premiere preparatory course for CBV students in Canada taking their national Membership Qualification Examination. She has written various articles, taught professional courses and had many public speaking engagements on matters relating to business and asset valuations and related topics. Ms. Russell has qualified as an expert witness in the Federal Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of B.C., the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Superior Court, the Federal Court of Canada, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (“CPAO”, formerly Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario)’s Discipline Committee (which determines whether members should be charged with offences as brought by the CPAO’s Professional Conduct Committee) and the Investment Dealers’ Association. She has qualified as an expert in the areas of business/asset valuation, quantification of damages, income determination and forensic accounting. She has also acted as an accounting expert in arbitration, mediation, mediation/arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings (e.g., collaborative practice), and negotiated a number of buy/sell transactions. She recently co-authored a book with Dr. Howard Johnson entitled: Understanding Valuation Reports - A Guide for Legal Professionals, published by Thomson Reuters.