David Williams
Chairman & Founder
David Williams is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of MRE Capital. MRE Capital was formed in 2008 as a family office and private investment vehicle of David and his family. MRE Capital is focused on making investments in real estate across multiple asset classes and mid-market operating businesses.
David served for more than 30 years as the Chairman and CEO of Merkle Group Inc., a global marketing services business. He acquired Merkle in 1988 and became its 24th employee. In September 2016, Merkle joined the Dentsu Aegis Network, which acquired a majority stake in the company. Merkle achieved 20%+ annual growth for more than 30 years under David’s leadership to grow to more than $1.2 billion in annual review with more than 10,000 employees across the globe.
In addition to his role at MRE Capital, David serves in a variety of roles including advisor of Dentsu Group, a multi-billion dollar, global advertising and communications agency headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a partner in Greenberg Gibbons, a premier Mid-Atlantic based mixed use, town center and retail real estate developer; Quality Brands Group, one of the largest franchisees of Dunkin Donuts in the southern and western United States; Vetley Capital, a leader in veterinary real estate; Whitebox, an ecommerce and logistics business headquartered in Baltimore, MD; Mission BBQ one of the fastest growing fast casual restaurants in the US; and is a partner in Blue Marlin Partners a premier mid-market private equity firm. David is also on the board of trustees at Severn School in Severna Park, MD.
He began his career at Butcher & Singer, a Philadelphia-based investment bank, and holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. David currently resides in Annapolis, MD.