David Leal ’03

Co-Founder and CEO-in-Residence, Gulmohar Capital Partners
BS 2003, Rice University
MBA 2012, Dartmouth College

Term as President-Elect ends: 2025

Get to Know David

Executive Biography

David Leal ’03 David Leal is a Co-Founder and CEO-in-Residence at Gulmohar Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in tech and tech-enabled services companies. Previously, Leal was a banker at Bank of America’s Global Corporate and Investment Bank and also at Independence Point Advisors. Leal has advised and executed on over $200 billion in M&A, debt and equity capital markets transactions for clients, including several landmark transactions in the Tech, Media, Telecom and Energy Transition industries. Prior to his career in finance, Leal worked in the semiconductor and software industries in various leadership roles.

At Rice, Leal has served on reunion committees, including as co-chair of his 15-year and 20-year reunion, as a volunteer with the Rice Alumni Volunteers for Admission and as a member of the Society of Latino Alumni at Rice, in addition to his service on the ARA board and executive committee.

What part of serving on the ARA Board are you most excited about?

I am excited about working with a talented group of people to advance the interests of alumni from all over the world. Rice has a diverse alumni base with a rich tapestry of life experiences, and I am looking forward to tapping into the talents and perspectives of our alumni.

What is your favorite “Only at Rice” memory or story?

One of my favorite times of day was sitting down for lunch on any given weekday at a random table at the South servery. Only at Rice can you find a renowned piano player, an engineer, an All-American athlete, a sociologist and a physics professor at a lunch table having an enthralling conversation about powderpuff football.

If you could give one piece of advice to Rice students, what would it be?

Make friends with as many of your classmates as humanly possible. Whether or not you can tell currently, your classmates will go on to do magnificent things in the world and staying in touch with them will continue to inspire you throughout your life and your career.