Dr. Altounian’s expertise is in entrepreneurship, management, and marketing. 

Dr. Altounian has extensive experience with over 30 years of experience in the technology industry.  He was the Founder and CEO of Motion Computing, a provider of rugged tablet solutions for business customers. Prior to founding Motion he was with Dell Computer Corporation, where he served in executive positions for the Latitude notebook product line and the Precision workstation product businesses. He spent two years in the United Kingdom as the General Manager of Dell's Workstation Line of Business for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. His career includes management positions at Compaq Computer, Motorola, and Ashton-Tate. He is a named inventor on 10 patents and a published author.

  • Accomplished career in the technology industry focused on marketing and executive strategy.
  • Strong entrepreneurial experience both in corporate entrepreneurship and emerging technology companies.
  • Extensive experience in senior management roles including CEO, COO, and marketing management positions.
  • Board member, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and Ideabud LLC (Ticketbud)
  • Former Board Member, Austin Technology Council, LetsGel Inc., and GRC - Green River Cooling (for-profit)
  • Experienced teacher at the graduate and undergraduate level in new venture creation and marketing.

Academic Appointments

 

  • Associate Dean of Academic Programs and MBA Program Director, St. Edward's University, Bill Munday School of Business, Austin, Texas
  • Interim Dean, St. Edward's University, Bill Munday School of Business, 2018-2019 Academic Year
  • Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, St. Edward’s University, Bill Munday School of Business, Austin, Texas. 2013 to Present
  • MBA Program Director, Interim, St. Edward's University, Bill Munday School of Business, Austin Texas.  May 2015 to June 2016
  • Adjunct Professor, St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas, 2008 to 2013

- Taught New Venture Creation and Digital Marketing courses to undergraduate students in the Digital Media Management Program (DMM).

- Taught Digital Marketing and Branding courses to graduate students in the Digital MBA Program (DMBA).

Education

PhD in Business for Executives at Oklahoma St. University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2014

MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, Chicago, Illinois, 2007

BS in Business Administration at California Coast University, Santa Ana, California, 1993

Achievement & Involvement

Honors and Awards

2018 Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year, Global Technology and Innovation

2017 Most Valuable Mentor Award, Capital Factory, Startup Week September 2017

Best Paper Award, Casual or Committed: Using social behavioral theories for understanding the contributors to user commitment in user-generated content sites, Fifth International Conference on Engaged Management Scholarship, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2015

Nominated, Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award, St. Edward’s University, School of Management and Business. Austin, Texas. 2012-2013

Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society, December 2014

Golden Key Honor Society, December 2013

Organizations, Boards and Memberships

Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Board Member

Austin Technology Council, Board Member

Ideabud LLC (Ticketbud.com), Board Member

GRC Cooling Inc., Board Member

Academy of Management, Member

Society for Marketing Advances, Member

US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Member

Research

Research

C. Spinuzzi, D. Altounian and G. P. Pogue (2020) Go or No Go: Learning to Persuade in an Early-Stage Student Entrepreneurship Program, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

Peterson, R.A. and Altounian, D. (2019) Self-perceived Performance of Female-owned Firms and Male-owned Firms: Insights from Black and Mexican-American Entrepreneurs, Crittenden, V.L. (Ed.) Go-to-Market Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs, Emerald Publishing Limited

Zahay D., Altounian, D., Pollitte W. & James  J.(2018) Effective Resource Deployment in Digital Marketing Education, Marketing Education Review

Spinuzzi, Clay & Altounian, David & Pogue, Gregory & Cochran, Robert & Zhu, Lily. (2018). Articulating Problems and Markets: A Translation Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Emergent Value Propositions. Written Communication.

Altounian, D.A. (2014)  "Casual or Committed? Understanding the contributors to user commitment in user-generated content sites.", Doctoral Dissertation

Publications & Articles

Publications

Press:

"Embracing the Hackathon in Higher Education", David Altounian and Sarah Sharif, Huffington Post, October 2017

"They Started with $10,000, Now they are taking on ESPN", Inc. Magazine, October 2017

"More local sources of capital needed for Austin to become an elite startup city, local experts conclude", Austin Business Journal, August 2017

"Tech Companies are thriving in Austin -- the hard way", Inc Magazine, May 2017

"So You Have a Million Dollar Idea, Now What?" - Austin Monthly Magazine, June 2016

"The Dell Effect: Tech Giants Helps Shape Local Entrepreneurs" - Community Impact Newsletter, January 13, 2016

"Tech Talent and Funding Gaps Identified" - RCR Wireless, November 13, 2015

"Austin needs more venture funding" - Austin-American Statesman, October 25, 2015

"4 Reasons to Rethink Entrepreneurship Education" - Huffington Post, February 19, 2015

"Redefining Entrepreneurship - 4 Common Myths Debunked" - Huffington Post, April, 2014

"15 Rock Star Digital Marketing Professors" - Stukent, Inc., 2015

"Best of the Best of Stukent: 2014-2015 School Year" - Stukent, Inc, 2015

Articles

"Is Austin finally on radar of East and West Coast VCs? New numbers suggest it is.", Austin-American Statesman, Jan 14, 2018

Presentations

Presentations

"Casual or Committed Users?  A Conceptual Model for Understanding Engagement in User Generated Content Sites", In development, accepted for presentation at the Third International Conference on Engaged Management, Atlanta, Georgia, September 2013

"Casual or Committed Users?  Understanding the Factors that Drive Deeper Engagement on User Generated Content Sites", Academy of Marketing Sciences Conference 2014, Indianapolis, Indiana

"Casual or Committed: Using Social Behavioral Theories for Understanding the Contributors to User Commitment in User-Generated Content Sites", Fifth International Conference on Engaged Management Scholarship, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2015

“Understanding the Customer Journey” Special Session Chair, Academy of Marketing Sciences Conference 2014, Indianapolis, Indiana  (paper above presented during this session)

Co-Chair, Fourth International Conference on Engaged Management, Tulsa, Oklahoma.  September 2014

“Goal Development Theories and the Use of Terminal Goals In Organizational Goal Setting”. Accepted for presentation at Fourth International Conference on Engaged Management, Tulsa, Oklahoma, September 2014 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2553323

Best Paper Award, Casual or Committed: Using social behavioral theories for understanding the contributors to user commitment in user-generated content sites, Fifth International Conference on Engaged Management Scholarship, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2015