CFA Institute, the global association for investment professionals, recently presented former SEC chair and Duff & Phelps' chief corporate advisor William H. Donaldson with its Daniel J. Forrestal III Leadership Award for Professional Ethics and Standards of Investment Practice. This award is presented periodically to a CFA Institute member who has championed the pursuit of excellence in professional ethics and standards of practice and who has provided outstanding leadership in elevating the integrity and competence of the profession.
Donaldson has spent more than 40 years at the highest levels of business, government, and academia - most notably as the 27th chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Since 2009 Donaldson has co-chaired the
Investors' Working Group (IWG) with Arthur Levitt and has advocated for investors throughout the ongoing debate on financial reform. The IWG is an independent, non-partisan panel that has recommended ways to improve the regulation of financial markets. In January 2009 he was appointed by President Obama to the newly formed Presidents Economic Recovery Advisory Board and by Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, to the International Advisory Council to the Commission.
In addition to his role as Duff & Phelps' chief corporate advisor, Donaldson continues to serve as chairman of Donaldson Enterprises, a private investment firm. He is also a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.