David initially specialised as a lawyer at Slaughter and May in international finance transactions and moved into investment banking where over a period of 30 years he was MD at Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers and Barclays Capital. He has been a Trustee of the Movement for Reform Judaism, Institute of Jewish Policy Research and is Chairman of Beth Shalom Synagogue, Cambridge. He founded BondAid and the Age of Anxiety Programme. He lives near Cambridge on a small non self-sufficient farm with his family