David Lester

David Lester, the managing director for Brightworks, serves as the finance lead in the company’s New York office. Lester has been helping people with their money, and banks with their people, for over 13 years. He has experience in finance, advertising and communications and is the author of two personal finance books, I (Heart) Money and From Middle Class to Millionaire. He also writes for the Huffington Post.

His financial career began at Merrill Lynch and, later, BMO Financial Group. Merging his expertise in finance with his passion for connecting with people of diverse backgrounds, Lester has also worked at creative advertising agencies, including Ogilvy One, Arnold and Zig Inc. At those agencies, he worked with global brands like Fidelity Investments, RBC Royal Bank, IKEA and Virgin Mobile.