President & Managing Director
McKinley Carter Wealth Services, Inc.
Website: www.mckinleycarter.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dhmckinley
Twitter: @dhmckinley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dhmckinley
Photo by The Presenters Agency.
By Samantha Cart
As an eighth generation West Virginian, David McKinley’s Mountain State roots run deep, and he can’t imagine calling anywhere else home.
“West Virginia is an environment in which those who want to have an impact have opportunities to make a difference,” he says.
As the president and managing director of McKinley Carter Wealth Services (MCWS), McKinley has embraced these opportunities to give back to the state he loves. After graduating from West Liberty University (WLU) and the College for Financial Planning in Denver, CO, he held various roles providing financial planning and portfolio management services to high net worth clients.
“As I considered how I could help people, I thought investments seemed interesting,” he says. “More than 25 years later, I have learned so much, not just about the financial industry and global markets but about how to help people and organizations achieve their goals. I believe I have much more to accomplish.”
In addition to MCWS, McKinley is the principal owner of OMNI Strategic Technologies and McKinley Properties, which employ a collective 60 people with annual payroll and benefits of more than $5 million. While this motivates McKinley to work hard, his unrelenting drive to help fellow West Virginians and their communities is his chief motivator.
“I find great pleasure in producing value and creating lasting positive impacts on those around me,” says McKinley. “I see a world of possibilities and can envision a better future.”
This unwavering dedication to public and community service is a family trait and one of which McKinley is very proud.
“I have a lot of respect for my family’s historical commitment and impact—generations of public service dating back more than 100 years,” he says. “My father, U.S. Congressman David McKinley, taught me about the importance of personal responsibility, gave me the confidence required for entrepreneurship and shared with me a love for West Virginia and a commitment to public service.”
With such an impressive family legacy to uphold, it should come as no surprise that McKinley has plans for public service in his future.
“With an interest in eventually offering my business experiences and expertise in strategy, leadership and finance to help even more West Virginians, I intend to eventually seek public office,” he says.
As a result of his upbringing, McKinley donates his time, talent and resources to many organizations. He serves as a trustee of the West Virginia Investment Management Board, which manages the state’s $20 billion pension, insurance and endowment investment programs, and represents North Central West Virginia on an advisory board to the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
McKinley also uses his experience in finance and economics to help West Virginia’s business community. Through collaboration with the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, he has co-chaired statewide and regional economic outlook conferences in Charleston and Wheeling.
His commitment to the community is demonstrated through numerous leadership roles. He is chairman of the finance and investment committee of the Boy Scouts of America Ohio River Valley Council, past chairman and current membership officer for the Young Presidents’ Organization Mountain State chapter, co-founder of the Community Fitness Challenge for Executives and former board of directors member for the Regional Economic Development Partnership. He is also a member of the Wheeling Area and West Virginia chambers of commerce and Rotary Club of Wheeling.
“I am a big believer in personal responsibility,” says McKinley. “If you give a man a fish, you’ll feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you’ll feed him for a lifetime. I care very much about the state of West Virginia, our outlook and confidence. I join those with the ability to invest scarce resources like time, energy and money to produce opportunities for others. I enjoy helping people improve themselves and their futures and hope, through the impact of my efforts, I have inspired others to do the same.”
1991 Began career at Dollar Savings Bank in Wheeling
1995 Graduated from West Liberty University
1996 Joined Prudential Securities Incorporated
2002 Named a Young Gun by West Virginia Executive magazine
2003 Founded McKinley Investment Group
2007 Founded McKinley Properties LLC
2007 Earned the Certified Financial Planner certification
2008 Joined Young Presidents’ Organization Mountain State and Pittsburgh chapters
2009 Appointed to serve as trustee for the WV Investment Management Board
2009 Appointed to the regional advisory board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
2010 Founded Willow Glen Capital LLC
2013 Acquired Terradon Communications Group and ContactPointe
2015 Acquired Catchpoint Digital in Wheeling, WV
