David Singleton has divided his professional life fairly evenly between the public sector and the private sector.  In the public sector, he has held senior appointed positions in city, county and state government, as well as an advisory position with the federal government.  He served as chief of staff to the Mayor of Wilmington (1977-84), Secretary of Finance for the State of Delaware (2001-04), Chief Administrative Officer of New Castle County (2005-06), and a member of the Internal Revenue Service State-Local Government Advisory Board (2002-05).   In the private sector, he served as managing director for JP Morgan & Co. (1984-1999), executive vice president for MBNA America Bank, which later merged with Bank of America (1999-2001), and vice president, University of Delaware (2010-13).

He has served as a director of a variety of organizations.  Currently, he serves on the boards of Delaware Performing Arts Center, Delaware Community Foundation, American Friends Service Committee and Women’s Project Theatre.  In the past, he has served on numerous other boards, including Swarthmore College, Wilmington Friends School (board chair), the Delaware State Pension Board, the Delaware Healthcare Commission, the Riverfront Development Corporation of Delaware, Delaware Theatre Company, Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District, Borough of Manhattan Community College Fund and the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College.  Upon graduation, he received a National Institutes of Mental Health fellowship to study at the University of Pennsylvania and has subsequently studied accounting at the Wharton School.

He was born in New York City, and is married to Elaine Hughes Singleton.  They have two daughters and four grandchildren.