David A. Gravelle

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Personal Information

Gravelle had an epiphany during a parachute jump. Jumping and branding, he realized, are a lot alike. You have to leave safety behind. You’re in big suspense till the finish. But if you do things right, you’ll have a good landing. Gravelle has launched a consulting practice, Gravelle Branding/Marketing, in order to work with people dedicated to building powerful brands. He’s had more than 30 years of practice, 11 on the brand manager side. For 20 years, Gravelle oversaw clients of Richards/Gravelle, an affiliate of The Richards Group. During that time he directed branding and marketing strategy, advertising, and public relations for numerous clients in categories such as banking, technology, healthcare, biotech, food service, and business-to-business. He also has deep experience in not-for-profits. From 1975 to 1986, he was head of marketing for MCorp, the largest bank holding company in Texas. During his tenure, the firm grew from a single $850 million bank to a $23 billion organization. From 1979 to 1984 he directed retail activities of the flagship bank. Gravelle is a trustee of The Hockaday School and a director of the American Film Institute/Dallas. He is a past president and member of the governing board of the Dallas Museum of Natural History, and The Dallas Assembly; a former member of the associate board of the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business; a former director of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation; and the Baylor Health Care System Foundation. Gravelle is also a member of the Krewe of Orpheus. He has run more than 35,000 miles, climbed mounts Rainier, Shuksan and Fuji, completed an Outward Bound survival course, and made more than 30 military parachute jumps. Gravelle has bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife Linda have two children. - See more at: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/about/commissioners#sthash.LqwRazFI.dpuf