Dr. the Hon. Linford A. Pierson, OBE, JP
Dr. the Hon. Linford A. Pierson, OBE, JP, PhD (Educ. Psychol.), Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa (h.c.), LLM, MBA, MAPPC, FCCA is an indigenous Caymanian who has served in various positions in the public and private sectors of the Cayman Islands, briefly outlined hereunder:
- Dr. Pierson served in the Civil Service for 16 years, attaining the position of Permanent Secretary (re-designated Chief Officer), during which period he spent four years in London, UK where he obtained his professional accounting designation, becoming the first native born Caymanian to qualify as a professional accountant, from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1978; he was elevated as a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) in 1983. Dr. Pierson was awarded pioneer recognition in 2016 by the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) for being the first native born Caymanian to qualify as a professional accountant.
- Following his Civil Service career, Dr. Pierson filled various positions in the private sector in the early 1980s, including the local partner of the then Canadian accounting firm of Thorne Riddell/KPMG, followed by 16 plus years as an elected member of the Legislative Assembly/Parliament. During his political career, Dr. Pierson served as a Minister of Government, and later as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly/Parliament until his retirement in May 2005.
- In 1977 Dr. Pierson was appointed a Justice-of-the-Peace (JP) by His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Thomas Russell; he has also served as a Notary Public since 1983.
- In 2001 Dr. Pierson was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
- Dr. Pierson was honoured in 2002 by the Government of the Cayman Islands with the naming of “The Linford Pierson Highway” in recognition of his contribution to the development of roads throughout the Cayman Islands—Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.
- The title of Honourable (“Hon.”) in perpetuity was bestowed on Dr. Pierson in 2012 by the Government of the Cayman Islands; this recognition was legally bestowed on persons who have held the positions of (i) Premier; (ii) Leader of Government Business; and (iii) Speaker of the Legislative Assembly/Parliament – Dr. Pierson is a former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly/Parliament.
- Following his retirement, Dr. Pierson embarked upon the completion of his academic goals as followed: (i) A Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Psychology and Counselling (MAPPC) from St. Stephen’s College, Alberta, Canada in 2008; (ii) a PhD in Educational Psychology from Walden University, USA in 2012; (iii) an LLM in International Commercial Law (with distinction) from the University of Salford, UK in 2022; and (iv) an MBA (with merit) from the University of Cumbria, UK in 2024.
- Dr. Pierson was honoured by his Alma Mater – Northern Caribbean University (NCU) with the award of Doctor of Public Service (h.c.) in 2021 in recognition of his public service to the Cayman Islands.
- Dr. Pierson is qualified as an APMG International Certified Public, Private, Partnership (PPP) Professional, obtained in 2019.
- In addition to the foregoing, Dr. Pierson served on several Boards in the public and private sectors, and was active in community service, including as a Rotarian for 48 years (1968-2016).
- In addition to this book on Public-Private Partnerships Financing Globally, including SIDS and UKOTs, Dr. Pierson is the published author of the following books: 1. Autobiography, titled: Empowered by Faith – A Lifelong Journey with Jesus Christ; 2. Climate Change Resiliency Planning Into Businesses in the Cayman Islands, based on his MBA dissertation; 3. Working Memory Training to Improve School Preparedness of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & Why Are There So Many Successful People with ADHD? based on his PhD dissertation in Educational Psychology; 4. Lifelines of Learning: The Path from Early Childhood to Adult Success. He has also completed a manuscript titled: A Critical Assessment of the Relationship Between Intellectual Property Law and Competition Law in the Era of Artificial Intelligence, based on his LLM dissertation in International Commercial Law.