Since a young age, Shippensburg University alumnus David Williams has had a strong work ethic and sense of entrepreneurship. When he was 25, he bought a small marketing firm that later grew into Merkle Group Inc., a worldwide marketing-services company that achieved more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue before selling a majority stake to Japan’s Dentsu Group in 2016. He founded MRE Capital in 2008 as the family office and now serves as its founder, chairman and chief executive officer.
William’s entrepreneurial spirit started back in high school, when he was recruited to be the general manager of a landscaping company, and managed a team at only 16 years old. This foundational experience, combined with earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the John L. Grove College of Business, provided him with essential skills that he later utilized as an executive.
After graduating, Williams briefly worked as a stockbroker before buying Merkle Computer Systems in 1988. He described becoming the company’s 25th employee and chief executive officer after raising roughly $5 million to acquire a firm with about $2.5 million in revenue. Over three decades, Williams transformed Merkle from a small business into a global firm with offices worldwide. “We built Merkle into the largest digital advertising business in the United States,” he said.
Regarding his leadership at Merkle, Williams noted that “the goal was never just to grow revenue. It was to build a culture that could sustain growth, innovate and weather change.” This mindset transcended into his leadership at MRE Capital.
MRE is different from other private-equity establishments. “Our view is, if we like an industry and we like a company and its management team, then we want to back that team over a long period of time,” Williams shared. By backing management teams for the long haul, not enforcing a “fixed fund life” and utilizing family capital, MRE maintains a holistic approach.
Williams stressed that entrepreneurship doesn’t need to follow a linear path. Whether it’s launching a start-up, pursuing corporate leadership or buying and scaling existing businesses, everyone has their own trajectory. He also emphasized the benefits of today’s landscape. “When I went to Shippensburg in the 80s, there were no ETA programs. There wasn’t even really private equity,” he said. Today’s students, he argues, have clearer routes and more capital available than past generations.
The lessons that Williams has learned throughout his life are precisely what the Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation aims to instill in future business leaders. Williams advocated for the Diller Center by noting how it provides students with access to modest capital and the ability to learn from experienced entrepreneurs.
Through hands-on experience gained early on in life and during his education at Ship, hard work and early exposure to capital markets have all contributed to Williams’s success. The overarching message that he has for students and young entrepreneurs is to “…take calculated risks, do the work and use the resources around you to learn fast. You have to find your path. That’s your job,” he said.
