Dave is a Managing Director and has been part of the investment team of Globespan Capital Partners since the firm’s inception. He is based in Globespan’s Boston office where he focuses on investments in Software, Internet/Infrastructure and Cleantech companies. He also leads Globespan’s CIO Advisory Board, which he helped to establish. Dave brings deep operating expertise in fast-growth environments, a strategic market view, and an intense commitment to help the firm’s entrepreneurs achieve success in the technology marketplace.
Dave serves on the boards of CloudShare, expressor software, Luidia, Nantero and OpenSpan. Dave previously served on the boards of Cloakware (acquired by Irdeto), Ingrian Networks (acquired by SafeNet), Q1 Labs (acquired by IBM) and Reflectent (acquired by Citrix). He also participated as a board observer at OpenPages (acquired by IBM).
Prior to Globespan, Dave was a Principal of JAFCO Ventures, where he focused on enterprise software opportunities.
In his most recent operating positions, Dave held leadership roles at then start-up Family Education Network’s (FEN), first as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and then as Senior Vice President and General Manager of FEN’s distributed content management software business. Instrumental in FEN’s rapid growth, he helped to establish the company’s industry-leading position, with more than 4 million monthly visitors and a national network of more than 10,000 schools. He also helped to secure revenue and/or investment from AOL, AT&T, Fleet Bank, and Intel for FEN, which was acquired by Pearson PLC (NYSE:PSO).
Before joining FEN, Dave served as a Vice President and GM at Trans National Group (TNG), where he successfully ran and sold TNG’s start-up Canadian credit card business to Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO). During his tenure at TNG, Dave was a member of the founding team that developed businesses in the US, the UK, France and Germany. He also contributed to its venture investments group. Working as a team is core to Dave’s open and honest approach to achieving results, which to him means “exposing your weaknesses to your teammates and letting them help you through those areas as you help them through theirs.”
Dave’s combined experience as a founder, operating executive and venture capitalist offers a powerful lens on the business of technology for the firm’s portfolio companies. “I have experienced both success and failure, and I think both are critical in what I do now. Getting to ultimate success in this market involves taking risks. Sometimes those risks end up in failure. Our job is to help manage risk, minimize the impact of failure, capitalize on successes along the way and leverage it all for ultimate success.”
Dave is a member of Gartner’s Executive Programs (EXP), a membership-based organization for 3,300 CIOs worldwide. He has also served as a member of the New England Clean Energy Council innovation task force and was a steering committee member of the Ignite Clean Energy Competition. Dave earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MBA, with honors, from Boston University. He is also a CPA. When Dave is not helping his entrepreneurs, he is spending time with his wife and four children. Dave enjoys a variety of outdoor activities and is an avid boater and runner.
