David M. Traversi
Encyclopedia
David M. Traversi is an American investment banker, executive advisor, writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and leadership innovator. His book, The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader, has been hailed as defining the “new leadership paradigm.”
. He attended St. Vincent de Paul School through his sophomore year in high school and then transferred to and graduated from Petaluma High School
in 1977. In 1981, he graduated with honors from California State University, Chico
with a B.S. degree in Business Administration, and in 1984 he graduated from the King School of Law
at University of California, Davis
, with a J.D. He passed the Alaska (1984) and California (1985) bar exams, and then practiced as a trial lawyer for two years with Burr, Pease & Kurtz in Anchorage, Alaska. While in Alaska, Traversi was a mediator for the Anchorage Conflict Resolution Center.
In 1986, Traversi returned to school to pursue an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business
at University of California, Berkeley
. In 1988, he graduated with honors. While at Berkeley, he practiced law for one year and worked the other year in the acquisitions department of McMahan Real Estate Advisors, a San Francisco-based pension fund advisor.
After a brief stint as a lending officer with Citicorp Real Estate in New York and San Francisco, Traversi joined Montgomery Securities (now BancAmerica Securities) in 1989 to start and lead its corporate finance efforts in the real estate, homebuilding, and property services sectors. Traversi spent the next seven years there, ultimately as General Partner and Senior Managing Director, building an industry-leading real estate corporate finance practice. Clients included Sam Zell’s Manufactured Home Communities (now Equity LifeStyle Properties) and Equity Residential
, Donald Bren
’s Irvine Apartment Communities, David Murdock’s Castle & Cooke
, Schuler Homes and its ultimate acquirer D.R. Horton, Macerich, and KB Home
. Traversi also co-managed the firm’s financial services technology practice.
In 1996, Traversi left Montgomery to join E*Trade Group as a senior executive heading up the company’s investment banking and business development efforts. In 1997, he joined Sirrom Capital Corporation, an NYSE-listed investment firm in Nashville, TN. After launching Sirrom Capital West, the company’s western U.S. operations based in San Francisco, he moved to Nashville, TN to assume the post of President of the parent company. He led the 1999 sale of the company to Finova, then an NYSE-listed public company and one of the largest non-bank commercial lenders in the nation.
Traversi then teamed with Carl Stratton, formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Sirrom Capital, to form 2020 Growth Partners, LLC, since renamed Traversi & Company, LLC. Traversi & Company was originally formed as a strategic advisory firm serving clients across the nation, but has evolved over the years into primarily an executive coaching firm, offering strategic advisory and merchant banking services as well. Stratton left the firm in 2002 to launch his own company, Carlton Services, but often collaborates with Traversi on strategic advisory assignments. Traversi & Company has remained active since its inception, notwithstanding the fact Traversi has started several businesses in the interim. Since 2006, and particularly with the publication of Traversi’s book, The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader, Traversi & Company has emerged as one of the premier strategic planning and executive coaching firms in the nation.
Later in 1999, Traversi co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of PRE Solutions, Inc., a private company funded by ITC Holding Company
, based in Valley, AL. PRE Solutions, based in Norcross, Georgia
, ultimately grew into the nation’s largest electronic processor of prepaid telecom services before being sold to InComm in 2006. Traversi left as CEO in 2002, relocating to California to be closer to his sons following his 2001 divorce from their mother.
In 2004, Traversi joined with Herb Dwight, former Chairman and CEO of Optical Coating Laboratories and founder and former CEO of Spectra-Physics, and George Hsu, inventor of the electromagnetic compass, to form Sensor Platforms, Inc. Sensor Platforms is a fabless semiconductor company serving the sensor industry. Traversi served as Chairman and Chief Financial Officer until 2006. He raised $1.33 million in initial funding from the North Bay Angels, and subsequently raised $6.6 million from Newbury Ventures and ArrowPath Venture Capital. The company, based in San Jose, CA, is currently in development stage.
In 2010, Traversi launched Traversi Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment banking subsidiary of Traversi & Company. Traversi Capital Advisors, a member of FINRA/SIPC, offers private placement and mergers and acquisition advisory services to small and middle market companies with between $5 million and $500 million in the following industries: business services, financial services, IT and software, manufacturing, clean technology, media and entertainment, food and beverage, real estate and building, lodging and hospitality, and sports and recreation.
published Traversi’s The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader. Of the book, Lewis Coleman (President of DreamWorks Animation SKG
) said, “This book signals a new age of leadership…” Stephen M. Ross
, founder, Chairman, and CEO of RELATED, says, “This book is the leader’s ideal antidote for a world that is getting more complex and faster by the minute.” Beverly Engel
, best-selling author, says, “At a time when the business and professional world – and our country – is in dire need of excellence and integrity in leadership, Traversi has written a powerful guide to help transform ordinary leaders into extraordinary ones.” Jerry Weissman, best-selling author, calls it “an illuminating set of guidelines for any leader.” J. Michael Chu, founder and managing partner of Catterton Partners
, says the book is “a must-read for any executive interested in succeeding in the future.”
Haas School of Business
Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, Wells Fargo Center for the Performing Arts, and United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake Counties. He has been a member of the North Bay Angels since 1999. He is licensed to practice law in California and Alaska, and has a California real estate brokers license. He holds FINRA Series 24, 27, 79, and 63 licenses. He has a lifetime teaching credential from California Community Colleges, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, taught real estate and finance courses in the evening program at College of Marin
in San Rafael, California. He is also a Universal Life Church
minister.
and Hilary Swank
. His character, “Talbot’s Henchman,” was featured in two scenes with Robards and Swank.
In 2003, Traversi, with his current wife, launched an art gallery named “pieces” in Healdsburg, CA. The gallery carried the work of Northern California emerging artists, including Traversi’s abstracts
and abstract figuratives, as well as several lines of hand-crafted jewelry. Upon the birth of their daughter in 2005, they sold the gallery. Traversi continues to paint, selling his work primarily on commission basis.
and wine collector, Traversi wrote a monthly column, entitled The Wine Press, from 2000 to 2004, in the Kenwood Press, which serves the Sonoma Valley
in California.
Education and Professional career
Traversi was born in 1959 and raised in Petaluma, CaliforniaPetaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
. He attended St. Vincent de Paul School through his sophomore year in high school and then transferred to and graduated from Petaluma High School
Petaluma High School
Petaluma High School is a public high school located in Petaluma, California. Petaluma High School's rival is Casa Grande High School. Petaluma High School is located in the city of Petaluma, California. Petaluma High School serves the westside of Petaluma and many of the rural areas that surround...
in 1977. In 1981, he graduated with honors from California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico is the second-oldest campus in the twenty-three-campus California State University system. It is located in Chico, California, about ninety miles north of Sacramento...
with a B.S. degree in Business Administration, and in 1984 he graduated from the King School of Law
UC Davis School of Law
The University of California Davis School of Law , referred to as UC Davis School of Law and commonly known as King Hall and UC Davis Law, is an American Bar Association approved law school located in Davis, California on the campus of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA...
at University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, with a J.D. He passed the Alaska (1984) and California (1985) bar exams, and then practiced as a trial lawyer for two years with Burr, Pease & Kurtz in Anchorage, Alaska. While in Alaska, Traversi was a mediator for the Anchorage Conflict Resolution Center.
In 1986, Traversi returned to school to pursue an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. In 1988, he graduated with honors. While at Berkeley, he practiced law for one year and worked the other year in the acquisitions department of McMahan Real Estate Advisors, a San Francisco-based pension fund advisor.
After a brief stint as a lending officer with Citicorp Real Estate in New York and San Francisco, Traversi joined Montgomery Securities (now BancAmerica Securities) in 1989 to start and lead its corporate finance efforts in the real estate, homebuilding, and property services sectors. Traversi spent the next seven years there, ultimately as General Partner and Senior Managing Director, building an industry-leading real estate corporate finance practice. Clients included Sam Zell’s Manufactured Home Communities (now Equity LifeStyle Properties) and Equity Residential
Equity Residential
Equity Residential is a member of the S&P 500, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust based in Chicago, IL. The company owns or has an interest in more than 550 apartment communities in 23 states and the District of Columbia...
, Donald Bren
Donald Bren
Donald Bren is an American businessman who is Chairman of the Irvine Company, a US Based real estate developer, which he wholly owns.-Early Life and Education:...
’s Irvine Apartment Communities, David Murdock’s Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture...
, Schuler Homes and its ultimate acquirer D.R. Horton, Macerich, and KB Home
KB Home
KB Home is a homebuilding company based in the United States, founded in 1957 as Kaufman & Broad in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first company to be traded on the NYSE as a home builder and is a Fortune 500 company...
. Traversi also co-managed the firm’s financial services technology practice.
In 1996, Traversi left Montgomery to join E*Trade Group as a senior executive heading up the company’s investment banking and business development efforts. In 1997, he joined Sirrom Capital Corporation, an NYSE-listed investment firm in Nashville, TN. After launching Sirrom Capital West, the company’s western U.S. operations based in San Francisco, he moved to Nashville, TN to assume the post of President of the parent company. He led the 1999 sale of the company to Finova, then an NYSE-listed public company and one of the largest non-bank commercial lenders in the nation.
Traversi then teamed with Carl Stratton, formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Sirrom Capital, to form 2020 Growth Partners, LLC, since renamed Traversi & Company, LLC. Traversi & Company was originally formed as a strategic advisory firm serving clients across the nation, but has evolved over the years into primarily an executive coaching firm, offering strategic advisory and merchant banking services as well. Stratton left the firm in 2002 to launch his own company, Carlton Services, but often collaborates with Traversi on strategic advisory assignments. Traversi & Company has remained active since its inception, notwithstanding the fact Traversi has started several businesses in the interim. Since 2006, and particularly with the publication of Traversi’s book, The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader, Traversi & Company has emerged as one of the premier strategic planning and executive coaching firms in the nation.
Later in 1999, Traversi co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of PRE Solutions, Inc., a private company funded by ITC Holding Company
ITC Holding Company
ITC Holding Company, LLC is a holding company based in West Point, Georgia.The company began as The West Point Telephone and Electric Company, founded in 1896 by James Smith Lanier. Around 1950, the company changed its name to Interstate Telephone Company. The current Chief executive officer is...
, based in Valley, AL. PRE Solutions, based in Norcross, Georgia
Norcross, Georgia
As of 2010 Norcross had a population of 9,116. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 40.8% white , 19.8% black or African American , 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian Indian, 10.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 21.5% from some other race and 4.3% reporting two or more races...
, ultimately grew into the nation’s largest electronic processor of prepaid telecom services before being sold to InComm in 2006. Traversi left as CEO in 2002, relocating to California to be closer to his sons following his 2001 divorce from their mother.
In 2004, Traversi joined with Herb Dwight, former Chairman and CEO of Optical Coating Laboratories and founder and former CEO of Spectra-Physics, and George Hsu, inventor of the electromagnetic compass, to form Sensor Platforms, Inc. Sensor Platforms is a fabless semiconductor company serving the sensor industry. Traversi served as Chairman and Chief Financial Officer until 2006. He raised $1.33 million in initial funding from the North Bay Angels, and subsequently raised $6.6 million from Newbury Ventures and ArrowPath Venture Capital. The company, based in San Jose, CA, is currently in development stage.
In 2010, Traversi launched Traversi Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment banking subsidiary of Traversi & Company. Traversi Capital Advisors, a member of FINRA/SIPC, offers private placement and mergers and acquisition advisory services to small and middle market companies with between $5 million and $500 million in the following industries: business services, financial services, IT and software, manufacturing, clean technology, media and entertainment, food and beverage, real estate and building, lodging and hospitality, and sports and recreation.
The Source of Leadership
In September 2007, New Harbinger PublicationsNew Harbinger Publications
New Harbinger Publications, Inc. is an Oakland-based American publisher of psychology, self-help, mental health and health books. Most of its psychology books focus on the areas of ACT, CBT, and DBT.-History:...
published Traversi’s The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader. Of the book, Lewis Coleman (President of DreamWorks Animation SKG
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
) said, “This book signals a new age of leadership…” Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross is an American real estate developer. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies, L.P., a New York City-based real estate development company. It is jointly owned by his business partner, Jorge M. Perez. He owns 95% of the Miami Dolphins NFL football franchise and...
, founder, Chairman, and CEO of RELATED, says, “This book is the leader’s ideal antidote for a world that is getting more complex and faster by the minute.” Beverly Engel
Beverly Engel
Beverly Engel is an MFCT and psychotherapist and the author of eighteen self-help books. She is an expert in the fields of sexual abuse, women's issues, relationships, and sexuality...
, best-selling author, says, “At a time when the business and professional world – and our country – is in dire need of excellence and integrity in leadership, Traversi has written a powerful guide to help transform ordinary leaders into extraordinary ones.” Jerry Weissman, best-selling author, calls it “an illuminating set of guidelines for any leader.” J. Michael Chu, founder and managing partner of Catterton Partners
Catterton Partners
Catterton Partners is a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital investments in middle-market companies...
, says the book is “a must-read for any executive interested in succeeding in the future.”
Board Service, Licenses, and Affiliations
Traversi has served on the boards of a number of companies and organizations, including Schuler Homes, Fiberstars, PRE Solutions, ACA Financial, Sensor Platforms, E-Myth Worldwide, U.C. Berkeley'sUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, Wells Fargo Center for the Performing Arts, and United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake Counties. He has been a member of the North Bay Angels since 1999. He is licensed to practice law in California and Alaska, and has a California real estate brokers license. He holds FINRA Series 24, 27, 79, and 63 licenses. He has a lifetime teaching credential from California Community Colleges, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, taught real estate and finance courses in the evening program at College of Marin
College of Marin
The College of Marin is a community college in Marin County, California, U.S., with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District. Its chief executive officer is currently Superintendent/President David Wain...
in San Rafael, California. He is also a Universal Life Church
Universal Life Church
The Universal Life Church is a religious organization that offers anyone semi-immediate ordination as a ULC minister free of charge. The organization states that anyone can become a minister immediately, without having to go through the pre-ordination process required by other religious faiths...
minister.
Speaking
Since the 1980s, Traversi has spoken to many audiences and run workshops with many groups, including private and public corporations, industry associations, community groups, and university classes. Topics include leadership, negotiation, finance, real estate, housing, and economics, as well as the personal drivers discussed in his book.Arts
Traversi was a major extra in the 1998 motion picture Heartwood, starring Jason RobardsJason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
and Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
. His character, “Talbot’s Henchman,” was featured in two scenes with Robards and Swank.
In 2003, Traversi, with his current wife, launched an art gallery named “pieces” in Healdsburg, CA. The gallery carried the work of Northern California emerging artists, including Traversi’s abstracts
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
and abstract figuratives, as well as several lines of hand-crafted jewelry. Upon the birth of their daughter in 2005, they sold the gallery. Traversi continues to paint, selling his work primarily on commission basis.
Wine
An avid student of wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and wine collector, Traversi wrote a monthly column, entitled The Wine Press, from 2000 to 2004, in the Kenwood Press, which serves the Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition...
in California.