David Burt, GWSB BBA ’01, MS ’03, has always believed that “in life, you make your own luck.” Having been elected Premier of Bermuda in July 2017—as the youngest person ever to do so—Burt speaks from experience.
Premier Burt recently returned to Foggy Bottom as the keynote speaker for GW School of Business’s master’s and doctoral programs celebration. Burt stayed connected to GW since moving back to Bermuda in 2003. As a high school student deciding where to attend college, however, he chose GW sight unseen.
Burt, who grew up in Bermuda before moving to the U.S. at age 11 to attend Florida Air Academy, knew that he wanted to go to school in D.C. He applied to GW without visiting campus.
“I remember getting the admittance packet that said, Something Happens Here,” Burt explains. “I was hooked.”
In 1996, during his freshman year, Burt worked for the Clinton-Gore presidential campaign. He soon became involved in student government at GW, eventually serving as student association president during his senior year. While politics fit Burt’s outgoing personality, he wanted something different for his studies. He found his way to the business school after a chance encounter at Lisner Auditorium.
“There was a free screening of Jerry Maguire,” Burt recalls with a laugh, “and I changed my major to sports management.”
It was this twist of fate that brought Burt to GWSB. He eventually double majored in finance and information systems, and went on to earn his master’s in the latter. During this time, technology and creative problem-solving became Burt’s passions. While at GW, he and two friends started a small information technology company, building websites and similar projects. After finishing a master’s degree in 2003, Burt was eager to live and work in his home country.
His first real opportunity came in the form of an interview with Bermuda’s Transportation Control Department, via the government IT office.
“This is where fate comes in,” Burt says. “The interview process was like an oral exam for my capstone class in my master’s program, so I hit the interview out of the park, and got hired.”
Burt set to work transferring the department’s systems to an online platform, making the process of scheduling appointments infinitely easier for Bermuda residents. In 2004, he founded his own firm, Consulting Limited, and took on additional work with the government, and eventually the private sector, including building the mobile app Hitch – Bermuda’s version of Uber.
“Being an entrepreneur, you are always working for yourself, and that’s the challenge – it belongs to you,” he says. “It’s also the most rewarding thing because you get to see the results of your work.”
Although Burt is now serving his country outside the realm of business, he still applies these lessons to his work as Premier.
“The skillsets I gained at GW—particularly within my major—absolutely translate to what I’m doing now. Information systems design requires you to deconstruct problems to their core elements. My approach is that there’s solution A and solution B—let’s find solution C. That comes from my training…and I think that that’s an excellent, transferable skill into the world of public service, into the world of government—wherever there are problems that confront you.”
If you ask Burt for advice on navigating a career, he will tell you that whatever one’s interests, it’s “always a question of the path you choose to take.” He stresses the importance of valuing real relationships and taking the time to have an unplanned conversation.
“When I say that you make your own luck, the only way you can do that is to work hard and really try.”
Burt initially chose GW based on a hunch. Today, he considers that choice to be an important part of his own path and self-made luck.
“The experience here was amazing, and it helped to strengthen my world view – whether it was the students I met, the people from around the world, the activities—[GW] has literally shaped my entire life.”
-Melissa Nyman
