David Marc Howitt (born August 8, 1968) is an American business consultant. He is the founder and CEO of Meriwether Group and his spouse, Heather Howitt, was co-founder of Oregon Chai. He has provided business advice to various companies. Howitt was recognized by the

Portland Business Journal Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

as one of the 40 most influential business leaders under the age of 40

Early life

Howitt was born in

East Grand Rapids, Michigan East Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,694. The city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is surrounded by Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township, bu ...

and is the eldest child of Dennis W. Howitt and Leslie C. Vandenhoot. Howitt received his education at Lakeside Elementary School and East Grand Rapids Middle School. He then attended

East Grand Rapids High School East Grand Rapids High School is a public secondary school located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the East Grand Rapids Public Schools. Athletics The EGRHS Pioneers compete in the Ottawa-Kent Conference ...

, where he was an all state football player. He graduated with academic and athletic honors in 1986. Following high school, David attended

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

in Granville, Ohio where he received a bachelor of arts, a major in Political Science and minor in Philosophy. He completed a one-year Law Clerk internship at

Winston & Strawn Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm. Headquartered in Chicago, it has nearly 800 attorneys in ten offices in the United States and six offices in Europe and Asia. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest and oldest law firms in Chic ...

in Chicago following Denison before moving to Portland, Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. He was listed there on the Moot Court Honor Board. He passed the Bar and received his J.D & Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law in 1994.

Career

Following Law School, Howitt took a position as an Associate Attorney for

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt ("Schwabe") is an American law firm with over 176 attorneys in eight cities on the West Coast. The firm is led by Graciela Gomez Cowger, CEO. History The firm was founded in 1892 by Ralph Wilber and Schuyler C. Spence ...

in downtown Portland and later as Corporate Counsel for

adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

America. Later he served as Vice President of Licensing and Business Development, overseeing a licensing portfolio and arranging acquisitions for several companies, including

TaylorMade TaylorMade Golf Company is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The company focuses on the golf equipment market, producing golf clubs, balls, and clothing. TaylorMade Golf is currently ...

and Salomon. In 1994, Howitt's spouse, Heather Howitt, co-founded Oregon Chai, a company which sold tea. In 2004, Heather sold the company, and David then founded Meriwether Group (MWG), an advisory and business acceleration firm. Meriwether consists of entrepreneurs, corporate executives and lawyers, (

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...

, Schwabe Wiliamson and Wyatt). The Meriwether Group members advise companies about licensing, distribution, brand development, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Howitt is author of the book, ''Heed Your Call'' published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 2014 and founder of the Heed Your Call – Fulfill Your Journey Entrepreneurship Program. In 2014 he was invited to speak about his book on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. He spoke at

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

xHollywood in August 2014.

Community

Howitt served as Chair of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center from 2009 – 2013. He also served on the board of The Freshwater Trust, beginning in 2004, the Portland Parks Foundation, 2005 – 2007, and Waterwatch of Oregon, 2004 – 2006.

Recognitions

* 2007– Forty Under 40 by

* 2008– 20 People To Watch in 2008 by

* 2015– Denison University Alumni Citation

References

External links

Why Heeding Your Call Will Create a Better World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howitt, David Denison University alumni Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Living people 1950 births People from East Grand Rapids, Michigan Lewis & Clark Law School alumni Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon