Editor’s Note: Tom Davin, who wrote a Leader Board for the Business Journal in June, passed away on Sept. 1, at the age of 67. The Business Journal this week celebrates the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines. See page 23.
In celebration of Veterans Day, the Business Journal asked me to write an article to recognize a recently fallen veteran who was an exceptional business leader in our community, a devoted family man and an inspiring individual on so many levels. This Leader Board highlights the significant impact that many of our veterans have on their communities, businesses and families.
It celebrates the service they provided to our country, whether in times of war or peace, including Tom Davin.
Action Sports Unites Best Friends
Tom had many best friends, but I had the privilege of being one of his closest.
I first met him in 2001 when he was a partner at Brentwood Associates, and I was a partner at The Edgewater Funds. Both of us were based here in OC. Tom was an investor and board member at Zumiez, an action sports retailer, and I held the same role at Swell.com, an e-commerce and catalog company specializing in action sports. Our objective was to combine the businesses through a strategic combination.
As several of you may remember from those times, there was a lot of speculation on the disruptive nature of the internet and the traction of e-commerce, so to align interests around strategy, growth and valuation was, to say the least, challenging.
Though we did not succeed in getting the merger together at that time, the process of working together and getting to know each other would create a friendship that would stand the test of time with a richness that, for me, felt like I had found a brother, and as it turns out, though not by blood, I had.
The friendship that Tom and I shared was aligned with the principles that we had in common. We were both athletic and adventure-oriented; we both held our families dear to our hearts; we both believed in research and facts, and we both had a remarkable sense of integrity and trustworthiness.
This probably sounds very familiar to many of you out there who have best friends, but for us, given our respective backgrounds, it was fascinating that all these traits and alignments were always at the same volume and velocity, meaning we could always communicate with a few words and had complete confidence in each other.
This continued to build over the years, leading to many entertaining and rewarding experiences. We traveled, we had adventures, we led workouts, we developed an amazing eco-system of common business and personal friends, and most powerfully, we connected our families with the same energy and confidence that we shared.
The Mission Platform
In 2017, when Tom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, it was a very private matter. He kept it close and, in his usual “superhero” mentality and commitment to research and discipline, was going to beat it back as far as possible. Proudly and confidentially, I was going to help as a second team to his family.
However, knowing that physical limitations were coming, Tom and I decided to form Tower 5 Capital. This mission-driven investment platform would focus on veteran and first responder communities with whom we both shared a passion, and where Tom, with his military service background and understanding of the transition from service mindset, was fully committed.
We stitched our assets together with investments in 5.11 Tactical, Black Rifle Coffee, GovX, Stella Centers and Wave Neuroscience, among others. This was not only successful, but it was personally rewarding to see the impact these companies had on the communities they served. It would have been a rare week not to have 5.11 host both military and first responder groups at HQ, celebrating their service and paying respect to them for it.
Tom was a fantastic leader, having learned from, as he called it, “the best leadership training in the world”—the Marines. His rise from Lieutenant to Captain, over his six-year Marine career was highlighted by accomplishments that included occupational specialties in the Infantry, Recon, Special Forces Underwater Operations and Airborne.
He earned a Ranger Designation, with honors, from the Army Ranger School. Tom’s leadership was focused, collaborative, supportive and energetic. This was true in all aspects of his life, making him an incredibly consistent and accomplished force.
The Early Traits
His traits were shaped early. His mom and dad were both Navy officers, and Tom grew up understanding the importance of service and its purpose. His parents were organized, direct, energetic, patriotic and lovingly loyal to the family “unit.” As a result, Tom’s personal traits included being disciplined, demonstrating work effort and recognizing the power of unity in mission as a family as well as in business.
Tom’s business career was shaped in a similar fashion. After graduating from Duke in the ROTC program and completing his service in the Marines, Tom attended Harvard Business School.
He earned his MBA with honors and stepped first into the financial industry before taking operating manager roles at PepsiCo. There, he was promoted to COO at Taco Bell, and after spending time at Brentwood Associates, he joined Panda Restaurant Group as its first CEO who wasn’t a member of the founding family.
After Panda, smartly made the decision to stay private, Tom was recruited as CEO of a developing first responder clothing company, 5.11 Tactical, which he relocated to Orange County from Modesto. After the company was sold to Compass Diversified, Tom joined Black Rifle Coffee as an investor and Co-CEO.
Throughout this journey, Tom hired, created opportunities, and mentored those who served. He taught at USC’s Veteran MBA program, supported aspiring veteran entrepreneurs, and was active with not-for-profit organizations, including Infinite Hero and, most recently, Miles for Military. Tom was recently the recipient of the Augie’s Quest Champion award, which raised a record level of funding to support finding a cure for ALS.
The disease affects the military twice as often as civilians and ultimately took Tom’s life.
Tom was recognized after his celebration of life with this passage that captures his essence:
Service After the Uniform Comes Off
Mission-driven in the truest sense, he understood that service continues long after the uniform comes off, that veterans and their families carry weights the rest of us can only imagine.
So he showed up—not with grand gestures or empty promises, but with the steady presence of someone who knew that help is a verb, not a sentiment.
As we observe Veterans Day, this dedication takes on a uniquely poignant meaning. Let’s all gather to thank those who have served in every capacity and those who continue to do so every day. Let’s also observe the profound impact that many of those who serve have on their communities.
Tom was one of those.
