Elizabeth Nelson Appointed Chair of DAI Board of Directors

May 22, 2014

DAI is delighted to announce the appointment of Elizabeth (Betsey) Nelson as Chair of DAI’s Board of Directors. She succeeds outgoing chair Jim Boomgard, DAI’s President and Chief Executive Officer, who had led the Board on an interim basis since the retirement of longtime chair David Gunning in May 2013.

Elected at last week’s quarterly Board of Directors meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, Betsey made it her first act as chair to refer the Board to the company’s core values. “I am delighted and proud to assume this leadership role in a company so committed to its dual social and business mission,” she said.

Betsey joined the DAI Board in November 2011. In addition to her service with DAI, she is an advisor and corporate director for high-growth companies in the software, digital media, technology, and internet markets. She currently serves on the Boards of Nokia, Pandora Media, and Zendesk. Her prior board service includes Ancestry.com, Autodesk, CNET Networks, Macromedia, Good Technology, and SuccessFactors. Ms. Nelson served in various executive positions—including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary—at Macromedia, Inc., a global multimedia software company, from 1996 until its acquisition by Adobe Systems Inc. in 2006.

Before joining Macromedia, Betsey spent eight years at Hewlett-Packard Company, where she held various positions in international finance and corporate development. She began her career as an Associate with Robert Nathan Associates in Washington, D.C., where she was involved in international development projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank.

Betsey holds an M.B.A. in finance with distinction from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and B.S. in foreign service from Georgetown University.