David Grad

David Grad has found success in his career as a stockbroker and equities trader. Much of his work is based in the UK markets, but he also works on the U.S. and in German markets from time to time. Since the summer of 2012, Grad has been self-employed. He enjoys the freedom that self-employment brings. He is able to design his own schedule and balance his workload in a way that allows him to spend plenty of time with his family.

Work/life balance is an essential part of living for David Grad. He enjoys the challenges his job presents, but realizes that there are times when a person simply has to get away from the demands of the job. To keep his mind from being consumed by the pressures of work, Grad has developed a number of different hobbies.

He's an avid skier, as well as a tennis player and golfer. Grad is also a big fan of soccer and supports Chelsea Football Club. As a history buff, Grad enjoys watching films based on real events. He found the Oscar winning film "Argo" to be inspiring and also enjoyed "Gladiator." Grad is also in touch with his spiritual side and professes Christian beliefs. When it comes to religious debate, one of his favorite areas to explore and consider is the debate between evolutionists and those who believe in an intelligent creator.

Grad is the proud father of a 3-year-old son named Zacharee. Spending time with his son is very important to him. Although his son is young, he enjoys spending time on the golf range with him. Grad and Zacharee also enjoy spending time with the family's pet, a Boxer dog.

David Grad originally hails from Ascot, a town in Berkshire, England. Berkshire County is about 25 miles to the west of London. Ascot is in the eastern part of the county. Thet own might be best known for the Ascot Racecourse, which hosts the renowned Royal Ascot meeting each year. The meeting is a major event in the UK, and has been since 1711. The royal family attend the meeting each year, arriving via horse drawn carriage.

David Grad was educated in the UK school system, which is slightly different than the system used in the U.S. From the ages of 4 to 7, he attended Cowarth Park Primary School. Between the ages of 7 and 10, he was enrolled at Woodcote House School. Woodcote House is a boarding and day school for boys between the ages of 7 and 13. The school was first founded in 1931 and continues to be family-run to this day.

After his time at Woodcote House, Grad studied at what was then the Scaitcliffe School from ages 10 to 13. Scaitcliffe School was a boarding and day school for boys in Surrey. It merged with another school and is now co-ed and called Bishopsgate. A number of famous and successful people attended Scaitcliffe School, including the founder of Virgin, Richard Branson, and Lord Palumbo.

From the ages of 14 to 17, David Grad attended Bradfield College. Although it is called a college, the school is similar to high school in the U.S. Bradfield College is a boarding school located in Berkshire. The school has been co-ed since 2005. The school is well known for its yearly production of a Greek play, which it has been producing each year since 1890. Student perform the plays in the original Greek.

After his time at Bradfield, Grad attend MPW college from the age of 17 to 18. Grad did quite well during his time in school. He completed nine General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSE). Students in the UK are typically able to choose the GCSE subjects that they sit for, though some schools, such as Bradfield, require all students to take English, Math and Science exams.

In addition to sitting for nine GCSEs, Grad also earned three A-levels. A-levels are typically required of students who plan on studying at the university level. Like the GCSE, students can choose the subjects they sit for.

Career

In 1997, David Grad began his professional career. He sat for and passed his SFA exams, which allowed him to become a trader for Merill Lynch. Now known as the Securities & Investment Institute Certification examinations, the SFA exams were required to enter the financial services industry in the UK. Although Grad passed his exams, he put his dreams of being a trader on hold for a time to pursue his dream of being an entrepreneur.

He launched his first company in 1998, DGB Trading. With DGB, his goal was to source rare materials and provide them to the UK market. The company imported fine stationery from the Far East and sold it to wholesalers in the UK.

Two years later, David Grad started his second company, D3 Direct Limited. D3 was similar to DGB, as it imported materials to the country. But the scope of D3 was much larger. The company imported a wider range of materials to the country. During the 12 years that Grad was in charge of the company, it grew to have 20 employees and more than 40,000 square feet of warehouse space. D3 made it easy for customers to find products by offering an easy-to-search online database.

During the time that he was launching D3, David Grad paired up with a few other investors to launch a web-based Virtual Tour software. The software was incredibly innovative for its time. It allowed people to virtually tour a piece of real estate from the comfort of their home. The software was so successful that Grad was able to progress the concept on in 2001.

Charity

Although his education and career are important to him, David Grad realizes that they are not the only things in life. He is also committed to helping others through charity. Two issues that he is proud to support are education and environmental protection.

Grad had the opportunity to support efforts to educate children when he was a partner with D3. His partner at the time launched a charity called "A Child Unheard." The charity built and supported a learning center for children in Uganda. To support the charity, Grad sent over a 40-foot shipping container, full of supplies, to get the learning center off to a good start. He also contributed money to help build the learning center.

Along with his support of educational efforts, Grad has also supported the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. He sent a 20-foot shipping container full of supplies to Borneo to support the foundation. Among the supplies in the container was an X-ray machine. The BOS provides medical treatment to orangutans who are injured after their habitat is destroyed by deforestation.

In addition to contributing the shipping container, Grad has also personally "adopted" two orangutans. Their names are Lola and Violet. The financial contributions Grad makes to the organization allows them to retrain Lola and Violet to live in the wild and to provide them with food until they are able to survive on their own.

Grad has supported several other environmental organizations, including the Land Trust, the World Wildlife Federation and Greenpeace. These organizations were all sponsored by the naturalist Sir David Attenborough, as well. Without support from Grad and others like him, these organizations would not be able to continue to do the important work they do. He also continued to support "A Child Unheard."

In 2011, he arranged a charity golfing tournament to raise money for the centre in Uganda. The tournament was able to raise 15,000 pounds. The money raised by the efforts of David Grad allowed the learning center in Uganda to remain open for another full year.

David Grad is excited for what the future holds. He has recently returned to a career as an equities trader, and hopes that it proves to be as successful as his career as a business owner and importer. As he is only in his thirties, Grad plans on having a long career ahead of him.

Along with career ambitions, Grad has some personal goals. He hopes to raise his son Zacharee to be a chip off of the old block. Already, Zacharee shows some of the same interests as his dad. Grad's goal is to raise a son who is not only bright and career-minded, but also caring and thoughtful. He hopes that Zacharee one day grows up to have a successful career and to be able to provide support for those who need it.

David Grad also hopes that his efforts and contributions to wildlife organizations and environmental groups pay off in the long run. As a Christian, David Grad understands that it is up to people to protect the world God has given them. He plans to continue to donate to BOS and other environmental groups, though he hopes that one day the course of events will change enough that he no longer needs to provide support to save the orangutans or prevent the destruction of other natural habitats. Grad hopes to be able to live in a world where the orangutans are able to survive and where every child is able to receive the education he or she needs.