David Denning
Managing Director
Chris Hooper
Director, Treasurer
Father Jean Ikanga, SVD
Chief Spiritual Officer,
Assistant Professor, CUC
In addition to serving as Managing Director of Friends, Dave is an Airbus 320 Captain with Delta Air Lines,
based in Atlanta, with 29 years at the company.
Recently, Dave was a Senior flight instructor and evaluator at Delta Air Lines designated by the FAA to rate pilots on
the MD-88, MD-90. Additionally, he was a subject matter expert, in charge of aircraft manual revisions for the fleet.
He was also responsible for observing, training and evaluating instructors. For 3 years Dave served as a Line Check Airman, specially
trained to conduct and evaluate initial flights with pilots new to the MD-88, MD-90.
Dave worked as a superintendent for D.R. Horton custom homes scheduling, managing, and supervising the building of single-family homes.
Dave served as a Naval Officer and pilot on active duty for 7 years and Naval Reserve for 5 years. Aboard the USS Midway based in
Atsugi Japan he managed the aircraft maintenance division with 40 technicians, one chief petty officer and 2 officers to include
career development, counseling and training. Volunteered for duty as a Landing Signal Officer responsible for the safe and expeditious
recovery of aircraft aboard the ship.
Dave helped establish the Congo Brain Health Initiative which was created to fund research needed to develop tests for the diagnosis and
treatment of brain diseases in populations of sub-Saharan Africa.
Dave has a Bachelor degree in Aeronautical Industrial Technology from Arizona State University.
Dave is Married to Laura Ann Denning with three children. Andrew (Georgia College graduate and third year Dental student University of
Tennessee) Emily (Will graduate May 2021 from Georgia College with a BA in Art History and Museum Studies. Claire
(Is a third-year early childhood education major at Georgia college.)
Dave is a parishioner at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. He is active in the Knights of Columbus council 6517, currently an officer and former
Grand Knight. He also serves as an Extraordinary Minister and a Hospitality Minister.
Dave likes to spend time traveling with family and friends. Boating and skiing on lake Lanier. Going to concerts and learning to
play the guitar.
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In addition to serving as Director and Treasurer of Friends, Chris recently cofounded and served as CEO of Emergence,
the Georgia Medical Accelerator, a non-profit corporation. Chris Hooper is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Wholeberg Ventures,
an early-stage medtech, HIT, and biomed investment and business development firm (www.wholeberg.com), and Virtual Bio design
(www.virtualbiodesign.com), an HIT and medical device product development and commercialization firm.
Chris has served numerous companies in fractional and full-time C-level roles over the last twelve years,
including St. Joseph’s Translational Research Institute (Now T3 Labs), TitleMax, Emergence, CompWorx, and others.
He has more than 30 years of experience in product and concept development and commercialization, and is a patented inventor and published author.
Chris is often asked to join or assist companies in creating integrated portfolios of their most important projects and programs,
and then leading the efforts to implement them.
Chris is an accomplished leader in strategy development and deployment, business development, mergers and acquisitions, operations,
finance, product life-cycle management, and information systems, and has successfully led/managed numerous programs and projects,
ranging from focused, small-team, quick-turn business improvements to multi-year, multi-national IT-enabled, large-team enterprise
transformation programs.
He pursues fractional C-Level roles through the firm, Praemon Partners LLC (www.praemon.com).
Chris' experience includes 16 years of leading the creation and transformation of businesses and business capabilities as a Partner,
leader of the Strategy, Operations, and Systems consulting practice, and hands-on practitioner at Deloitte Consulting.
He is the original functional architect of SAP’s industry solution for footwear and apparel (FAS, which morphed into SAP’s Retail Industry Solution),
which is in use in all major softgoods companies in the world (i.e., Levi’s, adidas, Nike, Wrangler, J Crew, etc.).
He has also envisioned, designed, and developed internet-based HIT applications and IOS apps (which have been available through the iTunes Store).
Chris has started, worked in, led, advised, and helped attain funding for numerous early-stage ventures (medtech, MDDS, HIT, manufacturing, consumer, internet commerce, mobility, non-profit), and has been an active Angel Investor since 1996.
He led his first successful venture funding effort in 1987.
Chris has served and continues to serve as a mentor for women business executives in the Achieva Program within the PathBuilders’ women’s mentoring organization (https://www.pathbuilders.com/).
He holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering Concentration) from Georgia Tech, and an MBA in Operations Management from Georgia State University.
Chris’ board experience includes:
• Board Chair - Emergence, The Georgia Medical Accelerator
• Board Member - The Advisory Board of the HIT and HIM certificate programs at Gwinnett Technical College
• Board Member – The Star Neuroscience Foundation, Atlanta
• Board Member – Pregnancy Aid Center, Atlanta
• President, Treasurer, Member - Corner Oak and The Deerings Homeowners Associations, Norcross, GA
• Board Member – Harbrooke Downs Condominium Association, Tuscaloosa, AL
Chris is married to Anne Marie Ciprari, and together they have three daughters:
Carson (Holy Spirit Preparatory School alumnus and Georgia Tech Industrial Engineering graduate),
Riley (St. Pius X Catholic High School alumnus and graduate of The University of Georgia, Terry College of Business),
and Jennings (sophomore at The University of Alabama (Criminal Justice major), and St. Pius X Catholic High School alumnus).
Chris is active in Holy Spirit Catholic Church, and the Catholic men’s service organization, The Knights of Columbus,
in which he is a Fourth Degree Knight. He has served the Holy Spirit Council 6517 of the Knights of Columbus as Treasurer,
Deputy Grand Knght, and Trustee of The Board. Past service to the Church includes: the parish council, usher, member/case
worker with the Holy Spirit Conference of the Society of Saint Vincent DePaul, and Men’s Club Program Director.
Chris is a student pilot, having soloed and in the final stages of obtaining his Private Pilot’s License. Chris is an avid blue water sailor and ASA-certified bare boat skipper for large (blue water) monohulls and catamarans.
He is an active member of Les Marmitons, an international men’s gourmet cooking club, a home brewer, and has achieved the WSET Level II Award in Wines and Spirits.
Chris is also a lifelong wood worker and wood turner. He also enjoys golf and shotgun shooting sports (trap, skeet, sporting clays).
His Linked-In profile can be accessed by Clicking Here.
His Facebook page can be accessed by Clicking Here.
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In addition to serving as Chief Spiritual Officer of Friends and Assistant Professor at Catholic University of Congo,
Father Ikanga is a ...
Full Bio Coming Soon
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The Director of Development position of Friends is one of our most important team members.
Please refer resumes of qualified and motivated individuals to info@friendsofcuc.org.
Bio Coming Soon
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