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Meet Our team

David Smilow

Co-Founder, Partner

David Smilow is the Co-Founder and Partner of ITE Management which he co-founded with Jason Koenig in 2014. David is on the Investment Committee and Valuation Committee for each of ITE’s funds, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of American Industrial Transport, Inc. (“AITX”) and Trend Intermodal Chassis Leasing LLC (“Trend”). David oversees the firm’s risk management, leads the firm’s strategic planning, and co-manages the firm’s deal structuring. 
 
Throughout his career, David has successfully built companies and investment management businesses and managed portfolios of alternative fixed income assets and secured investments, including railcars, real estate securities, and distressed assets. David founded and served as Chairman of Jefferson National Financial (“JNF”), an insurance company with over USD $2 billion of assets, which was sold to Citibank in 2011. In addition, David co-founded, and served as Chairman, CEO and CIO of TeleBanc (now E*Trade Bank), which became the largest Internet bank worldwide before its sale to E*Trade in 1999. Prior to founding TeleBanc, he began his career as a fixed income portfolio manager and trader at Goldman Sachs and Drexel Burnham Lambert. 

Education

David received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He serves on numerous non-profit and corporate boards and lectures at Harvard Business School.