Going back a long way with SIAS founder David Gerald

SIAS founder David Gerald goes against the odds to deliver on his promises. The exception was a promise he made to his wife Rajmala some 20 years back to take her around the world after he retired as a lawyer. But it was not to be. Shortly after he stepped down from the corporate world, the CLOB issue unfolded and he voluntarily stepped up to band the 172,000 retail investors together to take the Malaysian government on. After the successful resolution, he transformed SIAS into a retail investor platform which included Investor Education and Advocacy, as well as Corporate Governance and Transparency. He and his team had tirelessly soldiered on to educate over 140,000 investors and engaged dozens of beleaguered companies on behalf of minority shareholders. Despite all the accolades, I know the promise to Rajmala was something that has been nagging at him for many years. He first told me about this some 15 years ago when I joined him to start SIAS Research. And again a few days back when I paid him a visit in his Maxwell Road office. There are some big shoes to fill, but hopefully someone will be able to step up to helm SIAS. Instead of advising firms when they trip up, Mr Gerald can finally head to TripAdvisor to fulfill that 20-year old promise.