David Obia

David founded Kola Capital Partners to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship through acquiring one business to steward into the future.

Prior to founding Kola, David worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs where he advised clients in the technology, media, telecommunication and financial institution spaces on M&A and other corporate finance transactions. His favorite transaction was advising the co-founders of the Blue Man Group on their sale of the company to Cirque du Soleil. Being a part of the journey to sell a family business and witnessing the emotional toll it can take on owners, David gained a lasting respect and appreciation for founders and entrepreneurs who put much sweat equity into building a lasting business and legacy.

After Goldman, David helped lead business operations and strategy at Airfox, a Boston-based fintech that operates a digital banking platform for the underbanked and unbanked populations in Brazil. By helping to professionalize the company during a high growth period across multiple geographies, David and the team positioned Airfox to be acquired by their Brazilian strategic partner, publicly traded retailer Via Varejo (BVMF: VVAR3).

The son of Nigerian immigrants, David was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California, but is still a die-hard Detroit sports fan. When not busy working and thinking about business, David enjoys learning about the body and mind. In addition to weight training, David has gained a deep interest in meditation and plans to study to become a teacher.