David Rawlinson II: President and CEO, Quarte Retail, Inc.
David Rawlinson II (Born 1976) was announced as the President and CEO of the American media conglomerate, Qurate Retail Group, the parent company of QVC, HSN, Zulily and Cornerstone Brands. Rawlinson’s appointment brings the number of Black CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies to five. The four other Black CEOs in the Fortune 500 include Lowe’s Marvin Ellison, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Roz Brewer, TIAA’s Thasunda Brown Duckett. and M&T Bank’s René F. Jones.
Qurate Retail Group is the largest player in video commerce (“vCommerce”), which includes video-driven shopping across linear TV, ecommerce sites, digital streaming, and social platforms.
Early Careers
David Rawlinson II joined Qurate Retail Group from market researcher firm NielsenIQ, where he served as CEO and led the company through a transition to new ownership. Prior to joining NielsenIQ as CEO, David was President of Grainger Global Online, where he led the fastest growth, stand-alone division of W.W. Grainger, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company, and under his leadership and direction, Grainger Global Online grew double digits every year and won multiple national awards for workplace culture.
David also served as general counsel and director of corporate responsibility of manufacturer ITT Inc. (2009-2012) and practiced law as an associate with the law firms of Locke, Liddell & Sapp, and Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham (K&L). His practice included representing Fortune 100 companies before domestic and international agencies and courts. David served as the associate representative to K&L’s management committee.
Early Life
David Rawlinson II is a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina. He was born in 1976 to the family of Regenia and David Rawlinson of Columbia, South Carolina.
Leadership
David was appointed in 1997 to the White House Conference on Youth, Drugs and Violence. He also served on the Dallas Tax Increment Finance Board, graduated from Leadership Dallas, and is a Truman Scholar. David served as a 2008/2009 White House Fellow and held various appointed positions under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama’s administrations (special assistant to the White House chief of staff). In the Obama Administration, David was a Senior Advisor for Economic Policy with the White House National Economic Council.(
Education
David has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a college degree from the South Carolina Corps of Cadets (The Citadel) with a political science degree in 1998.
He served as the class commencement speaker at his recent graduation from Harvard Business School, where he earned his M.B.A. While at Harvard, he served as the** Editor-in-Chief of The Harbus,** the historic Harvard Business School.
Board Membership
- Discover Financial Services, NielsenIQ.
- Previous boards: MonotaRO Co. Ltd., Nielsen Holdings (NYSE: NLSN). David has also held executive roles with ITT Exelis, formerly ITT Corp.
Personal Life
David Rawlinson II is married to business executive Nadia Rawlinson.
The couple met at the Harvard Business School while they were both getting their MBA. David proposed to Nadia by taking out newspaper ads in every city that Nadia Johnson had lived in (Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and New York).
David Rawlinson II profile is part of our Black Excellence Series.
