David Becker

Bio

Much of the rapid growth and early success of Meakem-Becker Venture Capital can be traced to the experience and savvy of its co-founder, David Becker. Dave sourced and co-led the firm’s first two investments, and he currently sits on the board of Hotpads, Shipwire, Leostream, and Kiva. From his immediate past post as President and Chief Investment Officer of Clearwater Capital Management, he sourced, led, and managed a remarkable wave of early-stage venture investments that include Kiva Systems, Bantu, Bit Armor, and Tiversa. Dave continues to advise these companies as they are achieving rapid growth. In the mid-1990′s through 2003, Dave refined his talents as a business executive and e-commerce innovator as a member of the leadership team of FreeMarkets, Inc., then the leading provider of internet deployed software and services for automating the sourcing processes of Global 1000 companies. As the Chief Operating Officer of FreeMarkets, Dave managed all operations for the company including software development and service delivery during the company’s growth from $8 million to almost $200 million of revenue and to over 1,200 employees based around the world. Dave was also a key member of the team that brought the company public in 1999. Dave’s early professional experience includes financial and management roles for Dole Fresh Fruit International in Costa Rica, where he managed a team that developed and ran a global information network that became the backbone of Dole Latin America’s logistics and supply chain management systems. In the 1980′s he served as a senior engineer with Union Carbide Corporation. Soon after college, David completed two active duty tours of duty as an officer in the United States Army Reserve. Dave holds a B.S. with high distinction in chemical and petroleum refining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.S. in chemical engineering from West Virginia College of Graduate Studies (now Marshall University). In 1991, Dave received his M.B.A. from Harvard University. His pioneering work on e-commerce methods and inventions has resulted in eleven U.S. patents.