Dave Butler

Dave Butler (born ) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is the co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Dimensional Fund Advisors, a global investment firm.

Butler played college basketball for the California Golden Bears, twice leading them to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after a 25-year postseason absence for the program. In his first season, he was honored as freshman player of the year in the Pac-10 Conference (now Pac-12). He played professionally in Turkey and Japan.

Basketball

Amateur

Butler played basketball at Rolling Hills High School in Rolling Hills Estates in Los Angeles County, California. His father and brother were alumni of Loyola Marymount University, who recruited Butler to play college basketball. However, Butler chose to play for the California Golden Bears.

At the University of California, Berkeley, Butler began his career as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1983. Under first-year coach Lou Campanelli, the Bears qualified for the 1986 NIT, the school's first postseason appearance since 1960. Butler led the team that season in rebounding with 7.9 per game, and was second in scoring (11.8) behind Kevin Johnson.

Cal returned to the NIT in 1987, advancing to the quarterfinals. Butler finished his career at Cal with the school record for games started (113), and also left fourth in Cal history in career rebounds (814) and seventh in scoring (1,291).

Butler graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marketing and finance in 1986, and was a Rhodes Scholar candidate. He was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, and named to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2014.

Post-basketball career

Butler returned to Cal and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Haas School of Business in 1990.

In 1995, Butler joined Dimensional as a regional director. He also serves as a director on the boards of Dimensional’s U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Throughout his career, Butler has been closely involved in the field of investment advice and the community of wealth management professionals. Since he joined Dimensional, the firm has grown from roughly $10 billion in assets under management to around $800 billion.

Personal life Butler's younger brother, Greg, played college basketball for Cal's rival, Stanford, before also playing professionally in the NBA.