The D&O Diary’s assignment to Asia continued this past week with a visit to Singapore, the prosperous city-state located at the Southern tip of the Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia. Singapore seamlessly blends sleek modernity with its multicultural heritage in a comfortable atmosphere full of color, life, and energy.

The primary purpose of my visit to Singapore was to participate as a keynote speaker and panelist at the 2025 Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Singapore Chapter Symposium. It was great to be a part of this event again – it is always one of my favorites. I would like to thank PLUS’s leadership, the chapter steering committee, and the event co-chairs for inviting me to participate in this excellent, well-run event again.

The PLUS Singapore Chapter Symposium is always an absolutely first-class event. My favorite part is meeting and engaging with the young, friendly, energetic attendees.
After delivering a keynote address on the topic of the D&O risks involved with family run businesses (a big issue in Southeast Asia), I moderated this excellent panel on the topic of “D&O in the Age of Accountability.” It was a lively and interesting session and I enjoyed being a part of it with these excellent panelists: to my left, Alex Rosati of Willis Towers Watson; Tressie Norton of Chubb Asia; Mike Lu of Beazley; and Fred Boles of Lockton.
I was also called in as a pinch-hitter on the day’s final panel when a scheduled panelist was called away on a family medical emergency. It was a little bit exhilerating to participate without any advance prep, but it proved to be enjoyable just the same. It was also an honor to be on the panel with these distinguished guests. On my left, Emma Loynes of Lloyd’s of London (Asia); Shanene Ramraj, of Marsh, who moderated the panel; and Tomi Latva-Kiskola of Everest Insurance.
Here’s a picture with the Singapore Chapter Steering Committee. They can be very proud of their chapter, which is one of PLUS’s truly successful chapters.
With the Symposium Co-Chairs, Jessica Schappell of Beazley and Andrew Robinson of DAC Beachcroft.
With the event Emcees, Eric Teoh of Allianz and Priya Gobal of Clyde & Co.
With Aaron Yip of Berkley Insurance Asia. Aaron was instrumental in organizing my involvement and participation in the Singapore Chapter event.
With Shu Ling Tan and Arthur Young of Marsh Asia. I was pleased to learn that both Shu Ling and Arthur are avid readers of The D&O Diary.
With Macca Anderson-Brown, Claire Schekeloff, and Rebecca Wong of the RPC law firm.
I was very pleased to meet Johnny Zhang of Ping An Insurance. Johnny not only came from Shanghai to attend the Singapore event, but he told me the reason he came all the way from China was to meet me (!). He told me — I am not making this up — that everyone in China reads The D&O Diary!
I love this picture with Heidi Zeng of Berkeley Insurance Asia. Heidi was very gracious to introduce Johnny Zhang to me.
I was also pleased to meet H Krishna Hari Hekambaram of Malaysia Reinsurance in Kuala Lumpur. We had a very enjoyable conversation. That is one of the things I really enjoy about these kinds of events, meeting new and interesting people.

With Samantha Soon of Berkeley Insurance Asia. The reason Samantha is holding her phone in the picture is that she wanted to show me the text message she received the first day she was at her current job, in which she was advised by her manager to read The D&O Diary every day. (Very wise advice, I might add.)
With Serena Qi of Trans Re. I first met Serena when I was at the APIG Conference in Sydney in September. Apparently Serena and I will enjoy see each other again at the PLUS Conference in Orlando in November. Serena and I are officially Conference Buddies.
For me, no visit to Singapore would be complete without seeing my good friends, Shasi Nair and Aruno Rajaratnam. Aruno is the “godmother” of D&O insurance in Asia. Shasi is the CEO of Berkeley Insurance Asia. We have been good friends for many years, along with Arati Varma and Ronak Shah, both of who were unable to attend the lunch because they were called out of town. Aruno, Shasi, and I enjoyed a great lunch of Peranakan food, the characteristic local cuisine. It is a great thing in life to have such good friends and it was great to be able to see them again on this visit.

My busy schedule while I was in Singapore meant that I did not have a lot of time for touristing but I did have a little time to look around a little bit. Singapore is such a great place. Truly one of my favorite places to visit.

The Sands Casino, perhaps Singapore’s most famous landmark. (Readers may recall the final fireworks scene at the Casino in the movie, “Crazy Rich Asians.”)
The scenic Clarke Quay, along the Singapore River.

Singapore is located at 1 degree northern latitude, just about 60 miles north of the equator, as a result of which it has an equatorial climate, characterized by hot temperatures, high humidity, and frequent rainfall. Sudden downpours like this one were not uncommon while I was in Singapore (and in fact, througout my time in Southeast Asia.)

A street scene in Chinatown in Singapore. It rained shortly before I took this picture; I was pleased to see the sun come out (albeit briefly).
Watching a checkers match at the community center in Chinatown.
Watch out for the durian. There are those who like durian. I am not one of those.
At the Maxwell Hawker Food Centre, which is adjacent to Chinatown. The hawker food markets, which feature a wide variety of kinds of street food, are a characteric feature of Singapore. At the Maxwell market, I enjoyed a big bowl of black pepper chicken with scrambled eggs, served over noodles. It was delicious, and cost only S$6 (about US$4.50).
The Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I started each day while I was in Singapore with an early morning walk in the Gardens, which are located near the hotel where I stayed.
This is one of the Botanic Garden’s permanent residents, an Asian Water Monitor.
I am a big fan of Singapore, truly one of my favorite places to visit.