David Bradford (businessman)
David Bradford (born 1950) is the Chief Executive Officer of Fusion-io, based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
His involvement with the company began in June 2008, when he chaired the Advisory Board and introduced Steve Wozniak into the company.
From September 2008 to February 2009, he served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of the company’s international corporate development team. He was named Chief Executive Officer in February 2009.
From 1985-2000, Bradford was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Novell. Bradford’s efforts in acquisitions, public offerings, and business development contributed to Novell’s growth from $70 million in 1985 to $2 billion in 2000. During his last three years at Novell, Bradford reported to Eric Schmidt, now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Google.
While at Novell, he was an influential behind-the-scenes informant to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in its investigation of Microsoft He supervised worldwide government relations, was elected Chairman of the Business Software Alliance, a software-industry lobbying group, and oversaw Novell’s Venture Capital Fund.
From 2005-2006, Bradford was a Partner with Greenberg Traurig, where he specialized in Corporate Governance, SOX, Intellectual Property, technology acquisitions, and private and public equity mergers and acquisitions.
Bradford began his career in 1977 at Irsfeld, Irsfeld, & Younger in Hollywood. In 1980, he moved from the private law practice to the computer industry where he has spent most of the last 29 years. From 1980 to 1985, Bradford was with Prime Computer, where, among other things, he served as Western Regional Legal Counsel. From 2002-2004, Bradford served as General Counsel to Dynix Corporation.
From 1985-2000, he was with Novell. There he figured prominently in antitrust litigation involving Microsoft and Novell. In June of 1992, he was involved in filing one of the earliest antitrust complaints against Microsoft. Though it was filed in Europe, it resulted in the US DOJ and the European Commission collaborating on a Consent Decree that barred Microsoft from engaging in anticompetitive practices. Bradford is an advocate of fair competition.
Board Experience
Bradford has served on the Board of Directors of both public and private companies and is currently on the board of Pervasive Software. Advisory Board experience includes Omniture, as well as numerous early stage technology companies. He is a Trustee and a member of the Executive Committee for the Utah Technical Council.
Advisory Board members that Bradford recruited to Fusion-io include: Steve Young; Michael Leavitt; Ray Bingham, former Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Design Systems, a member of the Board of Directors of Oracle, and a Partner with the firm of General Atlantic; Stephen M.R. Covey, Author of "The Speed of Trust;” and Victor Tsao, Founder of Linksys.
Venture Capital & Political Experience
While at Novell, for a two year period, Bradford was responsible for the company’s $150 Million dollar venture fund. He also launched FundingUniverse, a website that matches entrepreneurs with angel investors. He is a Senior Advisor to the private equity firm of H&G Capital Partners. He also worked along with Meg Whitman, former Chief Executive Officer of eBay, as a National Co-Chair for Romney for President. In 2004, Bradford was General Counsel to the Governor Elect of Utah, Jon M. Huntsman.
He led a team that wrote and passed the Utah Venture Capital Enhancement Act, which provided a pool of over $100 Million for investing in venture capital funds.
Achievements & Awards
Bradford’s involvement in the computer industry led to his being featured on the PBS Special – Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet. He has been interviewed on CNN involving matters of international trade. Additionally, he was founder of the Intermountain Chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACCA) and served as a Trustee for the Western Governor’s University.
Bradford was appointed by the Governor of the State of Utah to serve as a member of the State’s Judicial Nominating Board selecting the State Supreme Court Justices. From 1996 to 2004, he served on the Board of Trustees of Utah Valley State University, (now Utah Valley University).
In 1997, he was honored as the “Alumnus of the Year” for the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University (BYU).
Education
Bradford has a Law Degree from BYU, a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from BYU.
Personal Information
Bradford has been married to Linda Warne for over 35 years and has four children and 15 grandchildren. His nickname is “The Human Internet” for his enthusiasm for social media.