The Honors College wants to spotlight a top-tier alumnus, David Grinevald. Originally from Paris, France, after graduating high school in his home country, he took a summer trip to Miami and fell deeply in love with the city.
“Living in Miami is effortless,” he said.
His trip to Miami changed his life trajectory. He decided to drop out of the French law school he was then attending and continue his undergrad in Miami. He only had a few connections in America and little financial support from his family.
Grinevald took out a French student loan and started his US education at Miami Dade College (MDC) Wolfson campus. He later transferred to FIU Honors College and was awarded a scholarship program for French nationals. With credits from his French school and MDC, he completed his final two years at FIU, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations and Affairs.
While at FIU, he participated in the ARCH program offered by the Honors College. Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors (ARCH) allows undergrad students to conduct research with an FIU faculty member. Grinevald’s most vivid memory of his time at FIU was completing his undergrad thesis with Professor Mauro Caraccioli on the notion of responsibility in the “Origins of Totalitarianism” by German political philosopher Hannah Arendt.
“It was a tremendous experience because you usually don’t get to write a thesis until you reach a PhD, and here I was at 20 years old, spending hours on end on this fascinating topic with a great professor,” he said.
This experience taught him essential skills. He was forced to work diligently for extended periods, preparing him for grad school and the workforce requirements. He speaks very highly of the opportunity.
“It’s something I took away with me for the rest of my life and professional career.”
After attending FIU Honors College, he obtained his graduate dual degree from Sciences Po (Paris) and Columbia University, an MPA in International Security Policy. He believes the work ethic and knowledge he gained within the Honors program helped him achieve this academic accomplishment.
When starting college, Grinevald desired to become a French Foreign Service diplomat. While preparing to join the service, a twist of fate had a friend offer him a job at a tech start-up. He took the leap, having no business background, and became employee number three at Oneparkapp, a then-small organization. Six years later, Onepark had become the European parking marketplace leader, under his team’s leadership.
“As much as I value my college degrees and the education I then received, I also learned so much just by following a tremendous start-up founder,” he said. Real-world experience is integral; the friend and entrepreneur took Grinevald under his wing, teaching him almost everything he knows about business.
He then worked as the Managing Director US for OVRSEA, a digital freight forwarding company. This job had him overseeing sales, managing operations, and collaborating with top executives as a member of the executive committee to ensure the company would reach its very ambitious growth objectives. Three years later, OVRSEA is about to become the first-ever profitable digital freight forwarder globally.
Ironically, Grinevald says “Without huge marketing budgets, I always put myself out there a lot to represent the company. For me who wanted to become an ambassador for the French government, and I ended up becoming an ambassador for the companies I work for,” he laughs.
Grinevald recently had an exciting job change and is now the deputy CEO of CG MOBILE America, a leader in designing and manufacturing exclusive consumer electronics under many luxury licenses, including brands such as Lacoste, Aston Martin, and Tumi. As deputy CEO, he will continue expanding the company’s footprint in the US but also ambitions to develop new geographies in the Americas.
Our esteemed alum has had a prosperous career post-graduation and has a few words of advice for current students and recent graduates: “Do not worry too much at such a young age, just try to be a little better every day. Pay less attention to yourself, and turn more to others and the world around you. No one gets anywhere without the help of their peers.” Wisdom from a man who built his success as a collective endeavor.