David R. Hopkins

Entrepreneur · Investor · Mentor · Writer

David R.
Hopkins

A life lived at the intersection of business, community, and the open road.

British-born, globally curious, and shaped by two decades in the American West. Four decades in technology, consulting, and investment have taken me from the City of London to Zurich to Wyoming, and now to the shores of Lake Norman, North Carolina — and the thread running through all of it has been people. Building things. Backing people. Giving back.

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The Story

From the City of London
to Lake Norman, by Way of the West

I started my career in the City of London — Barclays Bank, then Burroughs, then Unisys — at a moment when the technology industry was rewriting the rules of global commerce. I was part of the team that installed SWIFT, the system that would go on to underpin interbank communications worldwide. Not many people can say they were in the room when that happened. I can.

International postings followed — twice relocated from London to the United States, and a stint at General Motors' European HQ in Zurich, where I oversaw the transition of automotive dealers across the continent from individual country currencies to the Euro. Working closely with the European Commission, making sure a financial transformation of that scale actually landed. It did.

Eventually, America took hold. I founded a consulting firm focused on strategic and succession planning for family-owned businesses — the kind of work where you sit at the kitchen table and have the real conversations. I've been an investor in women-led businesses through Golden Seeds, and an advisor and mentor to early-stage companies across a range of industries.

I'm married to my wonderful wife Debby, and between us we have five children who keep life wonderfully full. After many years in Jackson Hole, we've recently made our home on Lake Norman, North Carolina — a change of scenery, if not of pace. Fort Lauderdale remains part of the rhythm of the year.

There's a particular kind of quiet that comes from water rather than mountains — no less demanding of attention, just differently paced. The house sits right on the lake, and the view from the back never quite stops being the first thing I notice in the morning. One small continuity I didn't expect: the ospreys. In Jackson they were migratory, gone for half the year. Here on Lake Norman they're residents — hunting and nesting close to the house year-round. A nice reminder that some things follow you, even three thousand miles east.

View of Lake Norman from the house

Lake Norman, from the back of the house. The ospreys here don't migrate — they stay the year round.

Osprey in flight

Osprey, photographed during our years in Wyoming — migratory there, gone half the year.

Bison, Yellowstone

Yellowstone bison, from the Jackson Hole days.

Above the Clouds

Young passenger in the Cirrus

A young passenger experiencing the world from a different angle. These were the moments that made it all worthwhile.

Flying Was
Always Personal

For many years, flying was the thing that quieted everything else. There was a clarity at altitude that's hard to replicate on the ground — decisions precise, the view extraordinary, the responsibility entirely yours.

For more than fifteen years I channelled that into Angel Flight, a charity that arranges free air transport for patients who need to travel for medical care and can't get there any other way. Long distances. Difficult circumstances. People who were often frightened, often grateful, always remarkable.

200+ Missions Flown
15+ Years of Service
2 Coasts Covered

Missions flown on both the East and West Coasts. Every flight different. Every passenger a reminder that the ability to help is itself a privilege — one I was fortunate to use while I could. Medical reasons have since brought my flying days to a close, but the gratitude remains, and so does the conviction that this kind of service matters.

Community & Board Work

Giving Back
Has Always Been Non-Negotiable

We just give back by enabling and encouraging young people to be the best they can be. That's the thread — from the arts to entrepreneurship to aviation — it's always been about opening doors for people.

🎭

Jackson Hole Center for the Arts

Past Chair of the Board. Four years spent leading an organization committed to making arts education and cultural programming accessible to the entire community — not just those who could easily afford it. Stepped down on relocating from Wyoming.

🚀

Silicon Couloir

Former Trustee and founding member of the TEAMS program. Years spent evaluating, selecting, and mentoring promising entrepreneurs across Wyoming — helping early-stage companies find their footing and their future. Stepped down on relocating from the state.

💼

Golden Seeds

Former Managing Director, investing in women-led businesses at a time when that capital was — and still is — harder to come by than it should be. Backing people who've earned it.

✈️

Angel Flight

Former board member and volunteer pilot — more than fifteen years and over 200 missions providing free air transport for medical patients who couldn't otherwise make the journey. A privilege from beginning to end.

📚

Libraries & Education

President of the Trustees at the Clarence Dillon Public Library, Far Hills NJ. Citizen Schools, San Francisco Bay Area. A belief that access to knowledge and learning should never be a matter of postcode.

🏙️

Paramount Fort Lauderdale

Vice President and Treasurer of the Condominium Association. The unglamorous work of governance that keeps communities running well — and that someone has to do.

Currently Writing

On Apprenticeships,
Status & the Roads Not Taken

I write about vocational education — apprenticeships, the trades, and the persistent cultural stigma that steers bright young people away from paths that might suit them beautifully. It's a subject I care about personally.

The series is called hopflys — which is also my Substack handle. Hopkins flies airplanes. Get it? It took a moment for most people. That's fine.

The question I keep returning to: why do we tell young people that university is the only path worth taking, when the evidence — and the world — suggests otherwise? I don't think we have a good answer. I'm working on one.

Read on Substack

Substack · hopflys

The Apprenticeship Chronicles

A series exploring why we've built a world that treats the university degree as the only credential worth having — and what we've lost in the process. Includes history, data, the occasional polemic, and an honest attempt to understand how we got here.

"We just give back by enabling and encouraging young people to be the best they can be."

Follow the Series →

A Name Worth Explaining

Why Doublechase?

My wife Debby — whom I've always called Chase — shares her middle name with my stepdaughter. Two Chases. Hence Doublechase. We've owned two boats with that name, and our house in Far Hills, New Jersey was Chase Hollow. Some names just stick. This one suits us.

Get in Touch

Let's Have
a Conversation

Whether it's a board opportunity, a mentoring conversation, a question about early-stage investing, or simply a note about something you've read — I'd genuinely like to hear from you.

I'm not hard to reach, and I do read my own email.

david@doublechase.com LinkedIn Substack · hopflys