HOME | CONTACT | CLIENT LOGIN

DCA Capital in the News

August 29, 2006
Sacramento Business Journal -

Satori Academy names CEO

by Kelly Johnson, Staff writer

Satori Academy, the Carmichael-based chain of martial arts schools formerly known as Kovars Inc., has appointed a new chief executive officer. David Chamberlain, who also was named to Satori's board of directors, has built and managed multi-billion-dollar businesses.

Chamberlain has been CEO of Austin-based global software and services company Versata Inc. and president and CEO of software company WebPutty Inc. He's also worked for IBM Corp., Gateway Corp. and Novell Corp. He also is CEO of the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, a nonprofit serving aspiring entrepreneurs.

Tim Kovar, who founded the business with brother, Dave, and Rick Campbell, the company's first big outside investor, had been co-CEOs.

The chain of 19 schools also appointed Rich Fiechter, the president of Contractors Warehouse and a Granite Bay resident, to its board of directors. Contractors' Warehouse is a North Highlands-based division of Home Depot Supply, serving contractors and remodeling tradesmen. Fiechter, also a student at Satori, has years of experience in operations, new location selection and build-out, demographic analysis and customer loyalty programs.

Both Chamberlain and Fiechter bring skills the martial arts company needs as it seeks to expand, the company said. Satori is aiming for 150 locations within five years.

"We have been working with Dave as an executive at our organization for several months and seen extraordinary growth in the business capabilities of our managers," Tim Kovar said, who also noted that Chamberlain earned a black belt "through our system" and "shares our mission and goals as an organization."

Satori Academy has over 4,000 students at 19 schools in Sacramento, the Bay Area, New York and New Jersey. The company also sells instructional materials worldwide on martial arts curriculum, business management and sales and marketing systems.