Dave DiCesaris

Before retiring from the industry in 2010, Dave DiCesaris enjoyed an active and successful career as an entrepreneur in the commercial leasing and financing business. He co-founded Matrix Leasing in 1995 and served the firm as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until successfully merging it with Matrix Funding Corporation, which he also served as COO. The company was subsequently acquired by UniCapital Corporation as part of its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in 1998, and Dave DiCesaris remained with UniCapital, serving as EVP of UniCapital/Matrix and as President of Boulder Capital Corporation. After UniCapital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2000, DiCesaris re-purchased Matrix Funding Corporation.

After renaming the company Applied Financial, Dave DiCesaris re-hired much of the former staff and built the company into a major player in the Western US., with Applied Financial's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was eight figures. In mid-2006, DiCesaris sold Applied Financial to Marquette Financial Companies, and retired for good in 2010.

His retirement from the commercial leasing industry has allowed Dave DiCesaris to devote more time to the Dave and Kathleen DiCesaris Foundation, which supports a host of causes and charities at the local, regional, and national levels, including needy families, churches, arts programs, and educational institutions, as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Young Life, and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

A gifted athlete during his undergraduate years at California's Pomona College, Dave DiCesaris earned regional and national honors as a player on the school's basketball team, and was among the first basketball players inducted into the college's Athletic Hall of Fame. He still enjoys an active lifestyle, and is a member of the Park Meadows County Club in Utah where he is an avid golfer. DiCesaris also continues to apply himself to broadening his knowledge and experience. He spent the 2011-2012 academic year in Florence, Italy, immersing himself in the culture and language in order to learn Italian and winemaking.