After graduating from Cal State Northridge, Dave started his career in retail insurance. He started at a small agency in Santa Monica in 1982. Over the next 35 years he grew the agency from 3 employees to 30. Revenue rose from $150,000 to $6,600,000. In 2016 he and his partner sold the agency, Tegner-Miller Insurance Brokers to Acrisure. After a transition period of two years, Dave realized it was time to do something new.

He formed a new company, LifeOpz, with his partner, Stephanie Michele, to assist retail insurance agencies with sales management, branding, and human resource management. LifeOpz is helping agency owners and their employees seek new paths to success. LifeOpz is all about the intertwined relationships of clients, employees, carriers, and prospects.

Dave and his wife live in Redondo Beach. He was president of IIABCal, president of Santa Monica YMCA, and CFO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.