Dave was born in Cape Town and spent most of his school years living in Vredehoek, Cape Town.
He matriculated from Sea Point Boy’s High in 1976 and underwent compulsory national service in the South African Air Force and later joined the permanent force as a telecom operator.
In 1982 Dave entered the world of commerce when he joined Cadburys (Pty) Ltd as a sales merchandiser, eventually becoming a key account manager. He went on to work for other FMCG companies, Bushe Boake Allen and eventually International Flavours and Fragrances. In 2003 Dave ventured into the word of self-employment as a distributor for Quest International Flavours. After a couple of years, Dave decided that the bustle of Gauteng was no longer stimulating and changed direction completely and bought a backpackers in Plettenberg Bay, moving there in July 2010.
From approximately 2013 to 2015 he was the chairperson of the Plett Accommodation Association.
Dave was approached by the DA to stand as their candidate in ward 2 in a by-election in April 2017. Considering this a ‘next step’ in his current involvement in the tourism industry he accepted the nomination and won the election. During this time his focus was on growing tourism, a major income stream for the Bitou area as well as improving service standards and housing in his ward and also the greater Bitou area. He has been actively involved in community activities concerning the security of the Bitou public.
After the 2021 local government election, Dave was election as mayor as part of a coalition government.