David Bard

Senior Fellow & Lecturer

Contact Information

Primary Email:
dabard@wharton.upenn.edu
Office Phone:
215-898-7622

office Address:
2300 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
3620 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Links: https://thehalifaxgroup.com/team/david-bard/

Overview

Education
- MBA, Wharton, 2011
- MPhil in Economics, University of Cambridge, 2004
- BSE in Economics, Wharton, 2002
- BAS in Systems Engineering, Penn Engineering, 2002
Academic Positions Held
- Wharton, 2015 – Present
Other Current Positions
- Partner, The Halifax Group, 2018 – Present
- Advisor, The Brydon Group, 2022 – Present
Other Former Employment
- American Securities, 2015 – 2018
- Bain Capital, Private Equity, 2006 – 2015
- McKinsey & Company, 2004 – 2006
- Internships with the Council of Economic Advisors and the U.S. Treasury

Teaching

FNCE 884: Advanced Topics in Private Equity: Anatomy of a Deal
FNCE 888: Advanced Topics in Private Equity: Advanced Topics in Private Equity: Funding, Sourcing, and Creating Value
PVEQ2362: Private Equity: Investing and Creating Value
FNCE 8010: Advanced Topics in Private Equity

Current Courses (Spring 2026)

FNCE8010 - Advanced Topics In Pe
The goal of this course is to put students in the seat of a private equity professional working on an investment from start to finish. Students will learn about the substance, process and mechanics of private equity investing, through the lens of the investment professional. The class will conduct a semester long case study, taking a specific transaction from the management presentation stage, to various modules in the deal process including: business diligence, industry diligence, accounting diligence, legal diligence, financial modeling, financing, valuation, negotiating the stock purchase agreement, and culminating in an investment committee presentation and recommendation. Working in teams, students will be required to build an integrated financial model to value the business, negotiate the key terms of the transaction agreements, and put together an investment committee presentation, defending their investment thesis and valuation. The class will also include several noteworthy guest speakers from the private equity industry and several smaller case studies to reinforce key topics.
FNCE8010001 ( Syllabus )

All Courses

FNCE8010 - Advanced Topics in PE
The goal of this course is to put students in the seat of a private equity professional working on an investment from start to finish. Students will learn about the substance, process and mechanics of private equity investing, through the lens of the investment professional. The class will conduct a semester long case study, taking a specific transaction from the management presentation stage, to various modules in the deal process including: business diligence, industry diligence, accounting diligence, legal diligence, financial modeling, financing, valuation, negotiating the stock purchase agreement, and culminating in an investment committee presentation and recommendation. Working in teams, students will be required to build an integrated financial model to value the business, negotiate the key terms of the transaction agreements, and put together an investment committee presentation, defending their investment thesis and valuation. The class will also include several noteworthy guest speakers from the private equity industry and several smaller case studies to reinforce key topics.

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