Dave began his career with Farmers Group, Inc. Over the course of 14 years, he worked his way up from securities analyst/trader to portfolio manager and eventually to director of research and lead portfolio manager for both equity and fixed income strategies. At the time of his departure in 1996, Dave was acting as Farmers’ chief investment officer, responsible for $16 billion of investable assets.

Dave earned his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis, and his MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst^® designation.

As Board Chair, Dave advises the Center Director in providing strategic insights and direction to help guide the Center's mission of advancing investment knowledge and experiential learning through academic research, student education, and industry engagement. Dave succeeds Larry Tashjian, CEO at CAM Capital Advisors, who led the CIS board in achieving tremendous growth of the SIF program along with increased visibility and reputation within the investment community since the inception of the Center.

"I have long supported the Center's work in applying academic theory to real-world investing," said Dave Iben. "I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional minds of the CIS board and at Marshall to prepare the next generation of global investors."

We are honored to have Dave chair our board. Dave has been a very active member of the CIS advisory board. He and his wife Nancy seeded the SIF’s Global Equity Fund (GEF), which has grown considerably since its launch. GEF is a key component of the USC Marshall SIF experiential learning experience. The students and alumni have continued to benefit greatly from Dave’s advice, mentorship, and involvement. We look forward to working with Dave in his new role.