David Graff has joined Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips as Senior Advisor. David specializes in brand extensions, licensing and retail programs for media and branding companies. He founded SunGate Partners, Inc. in 2000. Past and present clients include Newsweek, Time Inc., Bob Vila, Donna Mills, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, Dann Foley, Fitnation, Mark Zunino, Countess Luann de Lesseps, Weekly Reader, Manheimer Fragrances, Smart Pack Solutions, Safeway Supermarkets, Peter Max, The National Audubon Society, Outward Bound, Ringier Publishing, Reckitt Benckiser, Tranzact, FDG Design Group, and American Leathersmith, among others.

Prior to forming SunGate, Graff was Senior Vice President, Hearst Magazines International, and General Manager, Hearst Magazines Brand Development. In eleven years at Hearst, he founded and developed the largest magazine brand extension and licensing group in the world, resulting in retail sales topping $850 million annually, and the sector’s largest home video business. His accomplishments include initiating Wal-Mart’s first-ever licensing programs, applied to Sports Afield, Popular Mechanics and House Beautiful; licensing Esquire (ESQ) to Movado; opening Cosmopolitan fashion boutiques in Europe and Japan; creating and launching Cosmopolitan Virtual Makeover; producing and distributing Popular Mechanics for Kids television show; licensing Country Living to QVC; and the partnering Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire with The Home Shopping Network. Graff also negotiated publishing licenses for international editions of Esquire in Italy, Holland and Japan.

Prior to Hearst, Graff was an Account Director at the American Consulting Corporation. Earlier, he was a Product Manager at General Foods.

Graff received his MBA from the Wharton School and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of the Hearst Management Institute. Graff is the Chairman of the University of Pennsylvania Gazette and serves as a board member of the university’s alumni society.

Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips is an investment bank for clients that operate at the intersection of content, technology and services. This includes enterprises operating within the media, advertising & marketing, education, healthcare, information services and technology sectors. Over 21 years, clients have included Advance Publications/Condé Nast, Deutsche Börse Group, Elsevier, Hachette, JP Morgan Partners, Microsoft, The New York Times, Time Inc., TPG and Wasserstein & Co. The firm is the TMT practice Co-Head and industry specialist in Oaklins, the world’s most experienced mid-market M&A advisory organization with 700 investment banking professionals in 40 countries. In the last five years, Oaklins has completed 1,500 transactions exceeding $75 billion in value.

Oaklins is the collective trade name of independent member firms affiliated with Oaklins International Inc. For details of the nature of the affiliation, please refer to www.oaklins.com/legal.