David A. Breach is Vista Equity Partners’ President and Chief Operating Officer. 

Additionally, David sits on Vista’s Executive Committee, the firm’s governing and decision-making body for matters affecting its overall management and strategic direction and the firm’s Private Equity Management and Vista’s Private Equity Funds’ Investment Committees. David is also the Co-Chief Executive Officer of VistaOne, Vista’s evergreen private equity vehicle, and serves on the Investment Committee and Board of Directors. He also sits on the boards of Vista portfolio companies Jamf (NASDAQ: JAMF), Salesloft, Solera and Stats Perform.

Early Life and Career

David was born in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but later moved to southeastern Michigan with his family, where he graduated from high school at the age of 16. Following graduation, he enrolled at Eastern Michigan University and pursued a degree in business with a concentration in sales and marketing, while working full-time as a sales representative. David subsequently attended law school after graduating, first attending Detroit College of Law and later transferring to the University of Michigan Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1994, David took a job at Honigman Miller. There, he worked in corporate law, representing mostly private equity firms. Before joining Vista in 2014 as its Chief Operating Officer, David also worked as a Senior Corporate Partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where his practice focused on representing private equity funds in all aspects of their business. While at Kirkland & Ellis, David was a member of the firm’s 15-person global executive management committee and a founding partner of its San Francisco office. During his tenure, Kirkland’s Northern California practice grew to over 250 employees. David also earned recognition as “Law 360 MVP of the Year” for private equity in 2013, as well as a Chambers “Tier 1” rated lawyer for private equity M&A in 2011.

Publications and Events

Throughout David’s career, he has been a thought leader in the legal and investment communities. He’s offered his insights as part of Investment Magazine’s “Market Narratives” podcast series, and he joined the Wall Street Journal Pro podcast series, “WSJ Special Access,” to discuss how Vista’s differentiated approach to enterprise software investing begins with an inclusive and rigorous approach to talent and recruitment.

David has been a speaker at several conferences throughout his career, most recently at the RFK Compass Winter Investors Conference, the Milken Institute Asia Summit and the Milken Institute Global Conference, where he also spoke with Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak on the opportunities for private investors in the public markets.

Charitable Giving and Memberships

David is proud to support several organizations, many of which help to expand educational opportunities for those who need it most. For example, he is an active donor to the University of Michigan. In 2017, David and his wife established the David A. and Emily A. Breach Law School Scholarship Fund, which is a $1 million need-based scholarship often given to students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds or those who already have student loans. He also contributed to a Law School building project. Altogether, over $4,000,000 was collected from Michigan Law alumni partners and retirees at Kirkland & Ellis for the project.

Most recently, David committed $5 million to the University of Michigan Law School to permanently endow the David A. Breach Deanship. This deanship serves as a discretionary fund for the Dean of the school to utilize toward initiatives that advance the University of Michigan Law School’s mission, as well as its educational and research priorities.

David is also a member of the San Francisco Advisory Board for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and the American Investment Council.