As the son of a college professor and a concert pianist, Bob David grew up with education
and live performance in his blood. A compelling public speaker with a playful sense of
humor and a rare gift for both listening and teaching, he began winning over audiences
early in life.
You know how some teachers attempt to silence students by asking "would you like to teach
the class?" This tactic always backfired when used on Bob as he would gladly accept the
offer and share entertaining insights on the spot or deliver an impromptu speech on the
subject - often leaving his fellow classmates laughing out loud, or sometimes considering
new ideas, but always feeling better informed and more engaged.
He also developed a passion for the pursuit of excellence, competitive sports and coaching
others how to succeed. As a scrawny, ninth grade saxophone player, Bob's life was changed
forever one day after listening to a motivational speech delivered by his High School's
legendary football coach. He immediately committed to the daunting task of reading 100
books before graduating; completely transformed himself physically; and shocked everyone
by becoming a star performer on a football team that went 15-0 his junior year. After his
team won the AAAA Georgia State Championship and was ranked #1 in the nation by a
prominent sports writers poll, Bob began public speaking to groups about success, self
improvement, goal achievement, peak performance, overcoming adversity, leadership and
winning based on his storied experience.
He was offered a full football scholarship to Furman University where he helped his team
win three Southern Conference Championships. Those winning seasons included major
upset victories over much larger schools such as GA. Tech, North Carolina State and South
Carolina. Despite a grueling practice and academic schedule, he graduated Cum Laude
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration in 4 years.
At age 21 he began his career in the investment industry with Merrill Lynch in Atlanta GA.-
becoming the youngest hire in the nation in his financial advisor training class. Bob was a
long shot to make it as he had no contacts and no prior financial experience but defied the
odds by building a clientele from scratch through cold calling, referrals, speaking, networking
and niche marketing to become a record setting Financial Advisor.
At age 27, Bob moved to Southern California to become the youngest branch manager at
Merrill Lynch. Later at Prudential Securities he was named to the prestigious Branch
Managers Advisory Council. Then as Senior Manager - Advisor Best Practices Group of
Wachovia Securities in Richmond VA, he successfully coached many of the firm's top advisors
and advisor teams. He was a leader in the development of advanced Advisor and Branch
Manager training curriculum. He was also the Emcee and lead off and closing speaker at the
firm's highly acclaimed "Mastering the Business of Advice" advanced training conferences
delivered to thousands of veteran advisors nationwide.
Later as Director of Advisor Programs at Horsesmouth LLC, Bob became well known for developing
and delivering highly successful, innovative and entertaining live training programs to a variety
of firms and audiences - most notably on referrals. He's also known for his insightful commentary,
coaching ability, strategic thinking, creative problem solving, live event consulting and
energizing speaking style.
Bob now lives in Richmond VA with his lovely wife (founder of CGD, a full service accounting and consulting firm - www.cheridavidcpa.com) and their two beautiful children.
After 20 plus years of success experience, he founded Bob David Live Inc. to inspire,
entertain, educate, coach and advise people in ways that maximize their potential,
performance and happiness - to lead them on a journey of personal and professional
development, purposeful contribution, financial success and goal achievement
...and have much more fun and laughs along the way.
