David has over 25 years of experience leading, funding, acquiring and advising growth-oriented businesses, across a wide range of sectors. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping founders and managers achieve their visions.
David brings his extensive operating experience to the table when evaluating and supporting portfolio investments. David was a senior executive of McKinsey & Company’s global client workforce training & development platform, McKinsey Academy. David launched and led the development of the Operations Academy, which helps clients develop world-class operations capabilities (e.g. frontline service). David also led Academy's Offerings Organization, which includes product management, product development, and learning science.
Prior to this, David was President, investor and board member of ExamSoft, a global SAAS leader in student assessment, serving thousands of institutional clients in higher education, K-12 education, and professional certification. ExamSoft offers advanced data analytics to improve individual learning outcomes and curricular effectiveness.
David also has multi-unit leadership experience as CEO and board member of Gold’s Gym International, one of the largest fitness chains in the world with hundreds of locations in 27 countries. David led and grew owned club operations, global franchising and brand licensing. The Company developed and implemented new management systems and processes to support its growth and expanded the business through new greenfield development, expanded franchising and subsequent add-ons. David also helped launch a real estate side-car entity.
Before joining Gold's Gym International, David led acquisition efforts for TRT Holdings, a multibillion dollar, private holding company. While there, David led and asset managed investments across a number of industries from consumer/retail to financial services. Prior to joining TRT, David worked as an investment banker for Goldman, Sachs & Co., and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
David holds an AB degree in Economics and Political Science, with distinction, from Stanford University and a MBA, with distinction, from the Harvard Business School.
Daniel Muzquiz — Founding Partner
Daniel is a founding partner at Phoenix Strategy Investments and currently Chairman of The Predictive Index. Prior to The Predictive Index, Daniel was CEO of ExamSoft and responsible for guiding the company's overall strategy. ExamSoft, a high-growth SaaS platform, is a leader in improving educational outcomes for academic institutions.
ExamSoft was purchased by Spectrum Equity in 2014. Before ExamSoft, Daniel was COO of LEDCO-Chargeguard, LLC. — a leading provider of solutions that enable mobile computing (sold in 2009), and Phoenix's first private equity investment. Under Daniel's tenure, LEDCO experienced record year-over-year growth and significantly increased margins. Prior to co-founding Phoenix Strategy Investments in 2002, Daniel was a strategy consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he advised Fortune 500 companies.
Before BCG, Daniel worked in J.P. Morgan's Mergers and Acquisitions Group, where he was involved in over $400 million in transactions, primarily in the manufacturing sector. Prior to investment banking, Daniel served as country manager for Nabors Drilling International (the world's largest, land-based drill rig operator) in Mozambique and later Colombia. He was responsible for all P&L activities, capital expenditures, and union and client relations.
Daniel holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas, where he was selected for Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mike is currently the CEO of The Predictive Index. Mike provides overall strategic direction for The Predictive Index with emphasis on global growth and product development to drive outstanding client results.
From 2009 to 2012, Mike was the CEO of ShapeUp, where he guided its corporate direction and vision. While at ShapeUp the company grew revenues by 600% in 3 years. He was also instrumental in raising two rounds of venture capital financing to support the company's continued growth. ShapeUp is a social SaaS wellness platform that sells into the Fortune 500 and health plans.
Before coming to ShapeUp, Mike led the acquisition of Law Enforcement Development Company (LEDCO) and ChargeGuard, manufacturers of rugged computer peripherals. Mike and his team at LEDCO-Chargeguard took sleepy manufacturers of police equipment and turned them into the largest manufacturer of rugged docking stations and peripherals, supplying first responders, the military and field agents across the globe. Under Mike's leadership, LEDCO experienced 350% revenue growth in just four years, before it merged with Havis-Shields an industry leader in police radio consoles.
In 2002, he co-founded Phoenix Strategy Investments, to make investments high potential companies. Prior to Phoenix Investments, Mike was involved with the building of Vanguard Sailboats, which was the largest manufacturer of sailboats in North America. Prior to his role as a boat builder, Mike was a coach for the 1996 US Olympic Sailing Team, during the Summer Olympiad in Atlanta, GA.
Mike received his B.S. from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard. He and his family live in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where they spend as much time on the water as possible.
Advisors
Mr. Puckett has worked in a wide variety of industries and functional areas. He has managed projects in strategy development, organization and process redesign, operational effectiveness, and cost reduction for companies in the energy, industrial goods, high technology, and the services sectors. Prior to joining BCG, Mr. Puckett worked for IBM.
Mr. Puckett received a BS in Computer Science and Religion from Duke University, and an MBA in Finance and Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. O'Connell received a BA, with high honors, from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Professor Stevenson was a founder and first president of the Baupost Group, Inc. which manages partnerships investing in liquid securities for wealthy families. When he resigned from active management, Baupost assets had grown to over $400 million. He is now co-chairman of the Advisory Board of Baupost LLC, a registered investment company. From 1978 to 1982, Professor Stevenson was Vice President of Finance and Administration and a Director of Preco Corporation, a large privately held manufacturing company.