David McGovern founded Marlin Equity Partners in 2005 and has been a private equity investor since 1999. He is Managing Partner of the firm and Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee and Investment Committee. Mr. McGovern and the Marlin investment team have successfully initiated and executed a unique model of investing in operationally and financially challenged growth businesses. Marlin's investment philosophy centers around a core set of principles focused on partnering with management to execute strategies for long-term value creation.

Mr. McGovern has significant expertise in the mergers and acquisitions process, corporate strategy, turnarounds and acquisition integration. He has been involved in all aspects of acquiring and managing investments, including deal sourcing and qualification, transaction execution, portfolio oversight as both a director and officer, and realizations through sales, public offerings and recapitalizations. Mr. McGovern has served as an officer and/or a member of the Board of Directors for numerous highly successful businesses, including Emptoris, Solarsoft, Aldon and Intuitive Manufacturing Systems and, while at Gores, Verifone, The Learning Company, Aprisma Management Technologies, Anker BV, Global Tel*Link, and Proxicom, among others.

Prior to his private equity career, Mr. McGovern was a senior investment banker at CIBC and an attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where he was an editor of The Georgetown Law Journal (law review) and a B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University (Beta Gamma Sigma).