David Sternberg, a Wilmette, Illinois native, is the co-founder and CEO of Vivaldi Capital Management. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1981 with a BA in Marketing. The following year, his career took an unexpected turn when a friend invited him to the bustling floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (“CBOE”), marking the beginning of his remarkable career as a market-maker specializing in spread trading.
While working at the CBOE, David developed a unique dedication to risk management principles, which would define his career. On the infamous crash day of 1987, while many traders faced devastating losses, David’s group thrived due to their meticulous attention to risk management. David retired from trading at 37 and spent several years building a diverse portfolio of alternative investments. This experience in alternative investing combined with David’s risk management skill set led him to co-found Iron Partners LLC in September 1999. Iron Partners was an alternative investment business that managed a fund of funds which was ultimately sold to the founders of a private equity firm in 2007.
Following his tenure at Iron Partners, LLC, David began building custom alternative portfolios for high-net-worth clients. This business ultimately formed the foundation of Vivaldi Capital Management, a Registered Investment Advisory business that David co-founded with Randal Golden in 2012. Today, Vivaldi Capital Management is a full-service wealth management firm that manages approximately $4 billion and is recognized as one of the fastest-growing advisory firms in the country.
In his spare time, David enjoys traveling the world, spending time with his family, and playing golf and pickleball.