Highland Growth Advisors

David B. Anderson, Founder and CEO

David Anderson is a seasoned executive who brings more than thirty years of international business experience to his clients.  He blends his business and law backgrounds to provide a unique perspective to each of his engagements.  Mr. Anderson is actively involved in all of the work performed by Highland Growth Advisors.

Mr. Anderson has worked successfully in executive and director roles in a number of industries and has supported companies as an outside advisor for the last decade.  He has a particular passion for assisting companies take advantage of the opportunities, as well as avoid the pitfalls, associated with entering or expanding in the Chinese market.

He served as an advisor to Univar S.A., the world's largest chemical distribution company, where Mr. Anderson has provided international business strategy and development advice to the Executive Committee particularly in regards to China and generally in regards to Asia and Latin America.  He also served on the Board of Directors of American Ecology (Nasdaq: ECOL) and Advocate Health Care Corporation. Additionally, he has been a Senior Advisor to both Starthis Inc., and Freerain Systems.

He has significant experience in new ventures, having served as President and CEO of Mobitrac Inc., an early stage technology company, as well as President of MetalMaker International and Executive Vice President of MetalMaker Inc., an internet-based procurement company for the metals industry.

Mr. Anderson also has considerable experience in large corporations.  For nearly thirty years beginning in the 1970s, Mr. Anderson served in senior P&L officer positions of several companies and gained significant domestic and international experience.  From 1995 to 2000, he served as the Vice President, Corporate Planning and Corporate Development as well as General Counsel and Secretary for GATX Corporation. His time at GATX included a four-year period as President and Chief Executive Officer of GATX Liquid Logistics Incorporated.

From 1983 to 1995, he served as Vice President, Planning and General Counsel for Inland Steel Industries, Inc.  His tenure at Inland Steel included a five-year stint as the President of the Inland Engineered Materials Corporation.  Prior to his time with Inland Steel, Mr. Anderson worked as the Assistant General Counsel and International Counsel for American Hospital Supply Corporation, as well as a Labor Attorney for Continental Can Corporation.  Mr. Anderson also served as a Captain in the United States Army.

Mr. Anderson holds a JD and a BA from the University of Minnesota, and a Masters of Law in Taxation from DePaul University.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois, Minnesota and Chicago Bar Associations.  He is active in the corporate governance area and has served on the boards of several profit and non-profit entities including: Chairman of Chicago LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), Founder and Chairman of the Conference Board Council of Chief Legal Officers, Chairman of the Chicago Metro Ethics Coalition, and as a Director for American Ecology Corporation, Advocate Health Care and numerous private corporations.  Mr. Anderson is married and has four children.

Andrew Taylor, Associate

Andrew Taylor served as the Director of Business Development for Freerain Systems, where he brought to market Freerain's core software product.  At Freerain, Mr. Taylor was also responsible for all aspects of marketing, including field marketing, marketing communications, market research, and other analytic marketing.  Freerain Systems was acquired by ESM Solutions, Inc., the largest e-procurement provider to the education market, in June of 2007.

Prior to joining Freerain, Mr. Taylor led signifcant portions of the process to recruit, assess and hire airport screeners for the federal government's takeover of airport security.  This effort was considered the largest non-military deployment in United States history.  He also has work experience in marketing and finance roles for ARBROS Communications, a telecommunications service provider.  He started his career as a Research Associate at Economists Incorporated, an economic consulting firm, where he used research and statistical tools to analyze economic markets.

Mr. Taylor graduated with a BA in economics, magna cum laude, from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and an MBA in marketing and corporate strategy, with high honors, from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Other Assistance

Highland Growth Advisors has an extensive cadre of staff from a variety of disciplines - in the United States, China, and in other countries - who assist on projects on an as-needed basis.