Change & Innovation in Governance7th Singapore Corporate Governance Week

Mr. David Gerald was a former Magistrate, Coroner, Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel in the Singapore Legal Service, is the Founder, President and CEO of Securities Investors Association (SIAS) which is the largest retail investor body in Asia. He has had a legal career spanning over 30 years. He founded SIAS in 1999 to successfully contest the freezing of shares of 172,000 Singapore investors in Malaysian companies by the Malaysian government.

Mr. Gerald is heralded as the champion of corporate governance and investor rights in Southeast Asia and for this reason Forbes Global featured him on their global cover page. He is regularly sought after for his thought leadership by international and local broadcast and print agencies.

His views on investment and governance issues have time and again been well respected by board members and senior managers of top corporations, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and Accounting Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). He has the rare honour of being a member of the OECD Roundtable on Corporate Governance from Asia.

He was appointed to the Singapore Corporate Governance Council tasked to promote high standard of corporate governance in companies listed in Singapore. In 2009, Mr. Gerald received the Special Achievement Award by Singapore Exchange (SGX) for championing individual investor’s interest, advocating corporate governance and investor education. In 2010, he was appointed by Deputy Prime Minister & Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore as Member of Corporate Governance Council – Review of the Code of Corporate Governance. In 2011, he was appointed by Minister of Finance as Member of the Steering Committee for the Review of the Companies Act Singapore and in 2012, he was also appointed by Monetary Authority of Singapore as Member of the Financial Advisory Industry Review Panel. He also served as a Member, SGX-ST Working Committee to Review the Listing Manual.

In 2011, under his leadership, SIAS was awarded the Gold Standard Award for Good Governance by Public Affairs Asia, Hong Kong, an award usually reserved for governments and statutory bodies.