Growing up in hardship can motivate someone to unimagined heights. For David Hoffmann, it led to the creation of a global brand across ten business sectors, with sufficient wealth to give back to communities like the one that supported his own youthful dreams.

Just as a college football scholarship was a crucial stepping-stone on his personal career path, David believes in supporting deserving young people and communities to realize their full potential. Toward this end, the Missouri native is helping to transform Augusta, Missouri, into “the Napa Valley of the Midwest,” with a capital infusion designed to turn the nation’s first wine-growing region into a world-class producer of premier vintages. 

His numerous philanthropic endeavors span healthcare, youth, and the arts, and include such notable charitable organizations as the Boys and Girls Club of Naples (Florida), JDRF (a childhood diabetes research institute), the Everglades Foundation, Northwestern Hospital Foundation, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

David’s career trajectory began when he launched DHR International in 1989. Now the largest, fastest-growing executive search firm in the United States, DHR is also known as the most innovative company in its field.

Today, the Hoffmann business portfolio includes brands in agriculture, aviation, financial services, hospitality, industrial manufacturing, marine, media & marketing, professional services, real estate, and transportation. 

Hoffmann Real Estate, his company’s real estate arm, has invested extensively in downtown communities nationwide in an effort to revitalize our country’s heartland, in places such as Mackinac Island, Michigan; Naples, Florida; Winnetka, Illinois; and, of course, Augusta, Missouri. 

Although he is now a billionaire philanthropist, David Hoffmann has never forgotten what it was like to grow up in a home without running hot water, and the many communities he’s supported throughout the years appreciate both his humility and his ongoing commitment to service. 

David’s many accolades include recognition in the Florida Trend 500 in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater, the University of Central Missouri; and the 2023 Horatio Alger Award for achievement in the face of adversity.

David and his wife, Jerri, have been married for over half a century, and enjoy a close relationship with their three children and dozen grandchildren. When he’s not at the helm of the Hoffmann Family of Companies or serving in a philanthropic capacity, David can often be found volunteering at children’s soccer, football, hockey, and other sports events.