David Friedman is a tech-savvy marketing and operations executive with an expertise in bringing to market new technology particularly in wireless, software and the internet of things. He is a member of the TechCoastAngels of Orange County and serves on the software/hardware evaluation committee. He writes a blog on business issues and has been a guest speaker at entrepreneurial meetings. He is a co-founder of C-Level Partners, a new consultancy focused on startups and small to mid-cap companies who are experiencing turbulence in their markets and changes in their life cycle. He brings to C-Level Partners (CLP) a passion for the customer and innovation in products, distribution, and marketing. He plays at the intersection of technology and the customer; his real love is innovation and commercializing technology to meet the needs of customers.
During his career he has introduced more than $1.5 billion in new products. In his corporate career, he has helped companies build top line revenue growth and EBITDA while mentoring the next generation of business leaders. David had been executive vice president and Chief Marketing Officer for ATX Group which provides telematics and information services to automobile manufacturers and its clients.
Previously, he was Vice President, Marketing and Direct Sales at Connexion by Boeing, and commercialized the first Wi-Fi services available to passengers onboard commercial airplanes. Prior to Boeing, Friedman served as VP, Marketing/Chief Marketing Officer for U.S. Cellular in Chicago, where he was part of the executive team that grew revenue from $570 million to nearly $2 billion in fewer than 6 years. He also held executive positions with Covia Technologies, Ameritech Services and RCA, and has engineering experience with the Bell Labs, MCI, and the federal government.
Friedman holds an MBA (economics) from George Washington University, a master's degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (summa cum laude) from City College of New York.
He was on the Board of Directors for Patient Central Technologies, a healthcare IT company. He serves on the Advisory Board of Parcel Pending, a start-up in package delivery and which was funded by TechCoastAngels; an adviser to Bulletin, an Edtech platform for students and college professors; and TrialJoin, a Medtech company and exchange linking consumers with medical trials. He is host of a segment on the business Cable TV show called Eye on Business with a focus on "street savvy business," discussing how companies- start-ups and mature companies- can create a differential advantage and not regress to the mean.
He is a mentor for executive MBA students through the E2E program at the University of California at Irvine Graduate School of Business. He was recently appointed as lead mentor to entrepreneurial teams at the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Chapman University and at UC Irvine’s Cove which focuses on Innovation in Orange County. He also serves as one of the marketing/business instructors through the Marine Executive Education Association at Camp Pendleton, CA and an instructor of the Sales and Marketing Program through the California Manufacturing Technology Consulting Group.
