Friday, February 16, 2018
11:30 am
Krannert Auditorium
Dave started his career with Hewlett-Packard in 1985. In 1990, he founded, with his college friend, Visionary Design Systems (VDS), a CAD/CAM reseller and systems integrator. As CEO, he grew VDS and two subsidiary ventures (IronCAD and Alventive) into a $50M, 300-employee business, and one of the fastest growth private companies in America, ranking #58 on the Inc. 500 list.
In 2000, Dave formed Alventive, a pioneer in collaborative product lifecycle management solutions. Within 6 months, they built a highly innovative company and technology platform that garnered a $450M+ valuation. With the fallout of the dotcom implosion and economic downturns inhibiting long-term growth, he sold Alventive in 2003.
In 2004 Dave joined Celestica, one of Alventive’s largest customers, to help orchestrate a business transformation. He was appointed Senior Vice President of Global Services. Over the next three years, Dave and the team transformed the under-performing, money-losing businesses into a global services organization representing upwards of 10% of total revenue and generating 150% higher profit margins than Celestica’s core business.
In 2009, Dave began a career in Private Equity partnering with The Riverside Company where he is currently a Senior Operating Partner for the Micro Cap Fund. The fund is focused on buying “little leaders” and then accelerating their growth trajectory with increased resources, expertise and management alignment. Dave is currently Chairman of the Board for ARCOS, Physicians Pharmacy Alliance, Censis Technologies, The Marena Group and Xcentric Mold and he loves the diversity of each business challenge.
Dave graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and was a member of the football team for four years. Dave continues to support Purdue as a member of the Advisory Board for the School of Mechanical Engineering. He has had a lifelong commitment to youth outreach/ministry through Young Life. He has also been a high school football coach for the last 10 years. Dave and his wife, Chris, currently reside in Hudson, Ohio, and have 3 wonderful children.
