Dave Chen's focus on sustainability is a result of his work in venture capital and regional economic development and energy policy. In August 2007, he formed Equilibrium Capital Group; an investment firm focused on growth equity investment opportunities in the area of sustainability.

Most recently Dave was a general partner at OVP Venture Partners, joining the firm in 2001 and transitioning to venture partner in mid-2007. His investments at OVP include @once, Ambric, Intelligent Results, Net6, Tzero, and UXComm. He served on the board of @mobile prior to its acquisition by software.com, @Once prior to its acquisition by Info USA and Net6 prior to its acquisition by Citrix. Until 2002 he served on the board of HNC Software (NASDAQ:HNCS, now NYSE:FIC).

Prior to OVP, Dave founded GeoTrust & The Ascent Group; was Vice President Marketing Mentor Graphics; was an associate at McKinsey & Co; was an early team member in 1978 at Solectron.

He is the Governor-Appointed Chairman of the Oregon Innovation Council, Chairman the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), Director of the Federal Reserve Bank's Portland Branch, Board Member of the Oregon Investment Fund and Portland Public Markets, and past chairman of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum (2006). Dave received his BA in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.