About

Gerald Chew joined Delfi (then known as Petra Foods), one of the leading players in Southeast Asia’s chocolate confectionery market, in January 2005. A lawyer praised for his professionalism and insightfulness, Chew established the legal and corporate affairs department almost ‘from scratch’, forming its board committees and governance processes while setting up ‘a number of financial facilities, such as $500m, medium term note programme (MTN)’. Over the years Chew has advised on key acquisitions completed by Delphi around the world, including manufacturing plants in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France and Philippines. In addition, Chew helped to manage the sale of Delfi’s cocoa ingredient division to Barry Callebaut for $860m, making the latter the world’s largest producer of cocoa ingredients. Under the auspices of overseeing Delfi’s international portfolio of trademarks and intellectual property rights, Chew has had to either initiate or defend legal action in India, Malaysia, Manila (Philippines), Melbourne (Australia), Sydney and Singapore. ‘We are fortunate in that legal processes in the various countries have turned out in Delfi’s favour, to ensure that Delfi continues to enjoy market access for its diverse chocolate confectionery mix in important markets’, Chew says. ‘The highlight for me was having chosen the right external counsel to work with in realising this strategy’. Chew is one of a small number of in-house lawyers in Southeast Asia, who have been in the profession from 1990. His previous positions include in-house legal roles with FantasticOne, Wuthelam Holdings, MTV Asia and Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. Chew says: ‘My feeling is that every counsel, no matter what the scope or extent of his or her role, can effectively contribute to his or her organisation by contributing to its corporate culture. Counsel I feel, cannot forget that they manage others as they manage themselves by the thoughts they hold in their mind, and if they nurture thoughts and ideas of integrity, strategy and fair-play, these are things that are likely to “rub off” on others as well’.