David is a serial entrepreneur; he has spent the last 20 years founding, building and growing companies.

In 1991 he started Hotel Reservations Network, now Hotels.com, with Cornell law school buddy Bob Diener. Together, and with the help of their executives and employees, they developed and grew the largest specialized provider of lodging in the world. From a $1,200 initial investment, they grew the company to be one of the Internet’s primary sources of discount accommodations and an industry innovator and leader. Their innovations include the hotel merchant model, now in use by almost all online travel companies, the travel affiliate model and the technology and design that have become industry standards. They took the company public in February 2000 and performed among the top 1% of public companies from 2000-2003, increasing the company’s value more than 450% during a time when NASDAQ fell over 60%. In June 2003, they sold the remaining public portion of the company back to InterActiveCorp (IAC) in a transaction that valued the company at over $5.5 billion. Dave was instrumental in the company’s success. As CEO for 12 years, he oversaw the company’s domestic and international growth, personnel, strategic direction, product development, technology and call center operations.

Prior to co-founding Hotels.com, Dave worked for the Dallas law firm of Johnson and Swanson. Wanting to fulfill his entrepreneurial spirit, he left law practice and opened a discount airline business in 1984. With a $1,000 investment, he and his partner, Bob Diener, created one of the largest, most profitable airfare wholesalers in the country. They sold the company in 1990.

Dave now runs Wildflower Investments, a conservative investment company. He is deeply involved in nature conservation projects and is chairing a major project for the Audubon Society in North Texas. Dave lectures to universities and business groups on how to be a “conservative entrepreneur.” He lives in Dallas with his wife and three children.

He and his partner Bob are always looking for the next great business.

At the time of our 30th reunion, David and Bob were busy launching Getaroom.com, an innovative hotel booking website focused on handpicked hotel values in major cities.

At the time of our 35th reunion, Getaroom.com was celebrating its 5th anniversary. Getaroom offers low hotel rates at 80,000 hotels worldwide and its rates are distributed through its own website, Getaroom.com and thousands of other sites including Kayak and Tripadvisor. David and his wife Malia are empty nesters and cope by enticing their adult children to come home for occasional visits and by chasing them down wherever they are.

At the time of our 40th reunion, David continues as CEO of Getaroom.com, which is now one of the larger travel technology companies ($1B in gross sales in 2018). Getaroom offers technology solutions to hotels, suppliers, affiliates and travelers to access and book hotels worldwide using a variety of advanced technologies to move huge amounts of data quickly and accurately. Getaroom works with such major partners such as Kayak, Ctrip, Priceline, Trivago and Trip Advisor.