David James Richards


David James Richards is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and technology executive. He currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of WANdisco, an Anglo-American software company specialising in distributed computing.

Biography

He was born in Sheffield, England in 1970, where his father worked in the steel industry. Graduating with a degree in computer science from the University of Huddersfield in 1992, he became an early member of the team at Druid Group.
In the mid-1990s, Richards formed a SAP consulting company, which he sold in the late 1998 and moved to Silicon Valley. Raising $25m from venture capital, he founded business software company Insevo before creating Librados, which was acquired by Netmanage in 2004.
WANdisco was incorporated in 2005 after a chance meeting between Richards and WANdisco chief scientist, Dr. Yeturu Aahlad. Richards recognized the potential of Aahlad's invention, and the two decided to create a company without the use of venture capital or angel investors. In June 2012, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Philanthropy

In 2017, Richards and his wife Jane donated stock valued at $1.5 million to create the charitable David and Jane Richards Family Foundation to educate, empower and improve the lives of children.
Richards cited frustration at the UK Government's efforts to teach computing skills to schoolchildren and consequently a lack of adequate skills in a future economy where artificial intelligence and automation are prevalent. He said "You can’t have all this money and hold on to it or buy a football team. There’s only so many houses you can live in. I think it’s better to do something good for the world."

Awards and honours

Richards was awarded an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in recognition of him being a champion of British technology and a passionate advocate of entrepreneurship.