David Wilhelm

David Wilhelm (born October 2, 1956 in Ohio ) is an American venture capitalist and political advisor . He is the founder and president of various venture capital firms specializing in rural areas. He was also the senior campaign manager for Bill Clinton's first election as US president and chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1993/1994 .

Wilhelm was born the son of a German immigrant in the Appalachian region of Ohio. He graduated from Ohio University and completed his master's degree program in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University .

His first venture capital firm, Adena Ventures, focuses on rural areas in the central Appalachian Mountains. His second company, Hopewell Ventures , operates in the Midwest , another region that otherwise has little venture capital.

The staunch Christian became known as the campaign manager for Bill Clinton when he ran for president in 1992 . There he was mainly responsible for the organizational issues of the campaign, while James Carville , George Stephanopoulos , Eli Siegel and Mickey Kantor were mainly responsible for external communication.

After the successful election, Bill Clinton appointed him chairman of the Democratic National Committee ; he became one of the youngest party leaders in US history. In addition to the campaign for Bill Clinton, he also managed the election campaigns of US Senators Paul M. Simon and Joe Biden , the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, and Mayor Richard M. Daley . In the 2004 US presidential election , he was the man in charge of Illinois in the John Kerry and John Edwards campaign .

He founded two political consulting firms in Chicago: Wilhelm & Conlon Public Strategies for public affairs and The Strategy Group , which focuses on supporting democratic election candidates. He has completely separated from both.

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Companies he founded:

• Woodland Venture Management
• Hopewell Ventures (focused on the Midwest)
• Adena Ventures (focused on central Appalachia)
• Wilhelm & Conlon Public Strategies
• The Strategy Group