David Katzman
From Hoopedia
David Katzman is Vice Chairman of the Cavaliers. Mr. Katzman became part of the majority ownership group of the Cavaliers in March 2005. He is also the Managing Partner for Camelot Ventures and Vice Chairman, Quicken Loans.
Camelot Ventures is a private investment group which invests in technology and other businesses. Some of the past and current investments have included contact lens retailing companies Lens 1st, Lens Express and 1-800-Contacts; Kintana, a technology chain automation software developer; Rawlings Sporting Goods; and Red Envelope, a leading online and catalog retailer of stylish gifts.
Camelot Ventures also recently formed Fathead, LLC, which licenses and sells a whole new category of product for the true sports enthusiast called a “Fathead.” A Fathead is a big, bold, colorful, 3-D looking, life-size, movable vinyl wall graphic of your favorite NFL or NBA star in an action pose, or your favorite NFL or college football team helmet or NASCAR driver’s racecar.
After 12 months of passively investing with Camelot Ventures, Katzman resigned from The Home Depot on April 1, 2000 to pursue venture investing and advising full time.
As former president of the Home Depot S.O.C., a division of The Home Depot USA, which specializes in the processing of special orders for The Home Depot stores nationwide, his responsibilities included developing The Home Depot’s call center strategy for North America, process flow for handling special orders from initial customer contact to vendor payment, and full systems integration between the call centers, the Internet, the vendors and the stores. While President of this division, The Home Depot’s overall store sales grew from $20 to $40 billion throughout North America.
Mr. Katzman began his career by working in various retail positions until he founded DeeKay Enterprises, Inc., in 1987. This was the start of a 10-year run at successfully launching a variety of consumer-oriented companies including a Midwest home decor retail chain, Habitat; the nation’s second largest direct-to-consumer contact lens company, Lens 1st; and the number one direct-to-consumer home decor company, National Blinds and Wallpaper.
Home Depot purchased DeeKay Enterprises in 1997 and acquired all of the assets to strategically enter the directto- consumer marketplace and strengthen its special order systems in the stores.
Mr. Katzman sits on the Board of Directors for Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest online direct mortgage lender, and formerly served on the board of 1-800-Contacts (NASDAQ - CTAC) the largest direct-to-consumer contact lens company in the world. Other Board positions include RealAge.com, a medical advocate and permission marketing site with over 1.5 million registered and active users, and Michigan-based online promotions company, ePrize.
He earned a B.A. in accounting/finance at Michigan State University and attended Detroit College of Law for his graduate work.
Mr. Katzman is involved in a number of community organizations and charities including past Chairperson of HAVEN charity (a non-profit that supports domestic abuse cases), Honorary Host of ORT charity (an educational non-profit), and JARC (a non-profit that serves the developmentally disabled). Mr. Katzman also is an all-around fundraiser for numerous other non-profits.
