Cottrell Speaker Series to host David McNeill on Oct. 4

DAHLONEGA - David McNeill, president and managing director of 4th Strand, will speak at North Georgia College & State University on Oct. 4 to discuss entrepreneurship and his experiences in successfully starting, building, and selling two companies.

As managing director for 4th Strand, a consulting company that assists retail merchants in targeting customers by determining which products fit best with their targeted brand strategies, McNeill sets the culture of his company and develops strategy and direction. He also manages the financial and physical resources of the company while leading executive management in developing future initiatives.

McNeill's current company and prior startup each achieved a sale multiple greater than 55 times the invested capital-a mark of great success. Prior to his endeavors in entrepreneurship, McNeill held several C-level executive roles with larger private and public companies. He also worked in private equity with TPG Capital, and in consulting with Bain & Co. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Auburn University.

McNeill will discuss his experience as an entrepreneur and lessons he learned in the process of creating several businesses from the ground up. This will include insights he gained in realizing a top-10 percent business return, while aspiring for a comparable level of performance in his personal lifestyle.

All presentations in the series are open to the public and free of charge. Each session will be held in the second floor auditorium (room 232) of the university's Health and Natural Sciences Building at 159 Sunset Drive, Dahlonega. Sessions will begin at 12:55 p.m. and conclude at 1:50 p.m.

For a description of each speaker's topic please visit www.northgeorgia.edu/cottrellspeakerseries/.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/9/253201