André Gelinas was appointed as the QFC Regulatory Authority’s General Counsel in January 2021. He began his current tenure with the organisation in March 2019, as an Associate Director in the Office of the General Counsel, having served previously in a similar capacity from 2010 to 2014.

An American attorney and counsellor-at-law admitted to practice in the states of New York and Massachusetts, Mr Gelinas has more than 20 years of legal, regulatory and compliance experience across a broad spectrum of the financial services industry. He began his legal career as counsel to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) in Washington, DC, where he served for a total of four years over two separate tenures and focused on the regulation and supervision of securities broker-dealers.

During 10 years of private-sector work in New York City, Mr Gelinas served as in-house counsel to two top-tier global investment banks and as an associate with a leading NYC law firm advising financial institutions and financial-sector industry associations. Prior to re-joining the QFC Regulatory Authority in 2019, Mr Gelinas was instrumental in setting up a new peer international financial centre in Central Asia, serving as the first Chief Legal Officer of its independent financial services regulator.

Mr Gelinas completed his education in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College, where he completed the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program.