David W. Tiley

Senior Operating Partner, Align Capital Partners
BSME 1983

"Whatever you do, do your work wholeheartedly as for the Lord rather than man." -Colossians 3:23

FOR HIS EXEMPLARY BUSINESS ACUMEN TRANSFORMING MULTIPLE COMPANIES INTO TOP-TIER BUSINESSES WITH INCREASED RESOURCES, EXPERTISE AND MANAGEMENT ALIGNMENT THROUGH GROWTH, INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS AND COLLABORATIVE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS AND DESIGN.

David Tiley is as committed to helping others as he is to being successful in his professional life. As a highly accomplished innovator and entrepreneur, he has founded, cultivated and sold top-tier companies, making him well suited to his current role as Senior Operating Officer at Align Capital Partners. At Align he works with an investment team and with portfolio company management on growth initiatives and operational priorities.

Among Tiley's work for others are his contributions as an advisor, fundraiser and member of the Board of Trustees for Restore Addiction Recovery, a 100-bed Christian program for addiction treatment and recovery founded in 2017 to respond to the growing substance-abuse crisis in Ohio. The funds Tiley raises support free treatment for patients. And as a former Boilermaker football player, Tiley has given back by being a part-time and full-time coach for his local high school's football team for several years.

Before joining Align Capital Partners, Tiley was a Senior Operating Partner at Riverside Company, a global private equity firm. In that role he bought “little leaders,” small companies whose growth he helped accelerate through increased resources, expertise and management alignment. Based in Cleveland, Riverside invests in businesses with values up to $400 million, has completed more than 560 acquisitions, and has more than $8 billion in assets. During his years at Riverside, Tiley served as Board Chairman for several companies including ARCOS LLC, Censis Technologies, Inc., The Marena Group, Physicians Pharmacy Alliance, and Xcentric Mold.

After such prolific achievement, Tiley still points to the challenges he faced at Purdue as the toughest he's faced: "Studying ME while also playing football was the hardest thing I have ever done. It prepared me to grind. It prepared me to problem-solve. It taught me that no matter what the setback you just need to get up, dust yourself off, and move forward."

And Tiley has done nothing but move in a positive direction since his 1984 start at Hewlett-Packard. “I learned there are many paths you can take with an engineering degree from Purdue," he says. "I pursued technical sales with Hewlett-Packard after graduation. This allowed me to still stay involved in technical areas but also balance it with my interest in business. It proved to be a very valuable asset throughout my career."

Tiley gives back to Purdue and its students by serving as a member of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Advisory Council. In 2020, he facilitated and organized an ME team-building session to help establish core values for the school. Since 2018, he also has been a popular repeat guest at the ME Springer Lecture Series and was the featured speaker at the Krannert Executive Forum.

He was awarded Purdue University’s Outstanding Mechanical Engineer Award in 1997.

Career Highlights

2020-present Senior Operating Partner, Align Capital Partners
2009-2020 Senior Operating Partner, Riverside Company
2008-2017 Football Coach, Hudson Senior High School
2004-2008 Senior Vice President, Global Services, Celestica, Inc.
2005-2006 Senior Vice President, Products and Design, Celestica Inc.
2004-2005 Vice President, Design, Celestica Inc.
2000-2003 Founder, Chief Executive Officer, President, Board Chairman, Alventive, Inc.
1990-2003 Founder, Chief Executive Officer, President, Board Chairman, Visionary Design Systems, Inc.
1984-1990 Sales and Sales Management positions, Hewlett-Packard, Inc.

Education

1984 BS Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University