David Rauch, President & GC of Annexus Talks Legal Careers, Thunderbirds and the WM Phoenix Open

David Rauch (https://arsfinancial.com/leadership-david-rauch/) returns to a familiar setting and joins Brian Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/beeberts/) in the Attorney Lounge (https://linktr.ee/attorneylounge) for a discussion about David’s career and his involvement with the Thunderbirds, hosts of the PGA’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

David reflects on his journey from a blue-collar background to successful litigator to President & General Counsel of Annexus (https://annexus.com) and shares his experience as a life member of the Thunderbirds where he served as the WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman in 2010.

After graduating from San Diego State University with a degree in Finance, David briefly worked in the Finance Division with Robinson’s Department Stores in Los Angeles. While there, he took a $100 bet from a friend over who would get the better score on the LSAT. David not only won the bet but parlayed his good score into an acceptance to attend the UCLA School of Law. After graduating from UCLA, David moved to his wife’s hometown of Phoenix, Arizona and began his legal career in the litigation group at Snell & Wilmer LLP where he practiced for nearly 20 years.

David talks about the benefits of launching his career at a prominent law firm and the exceptional foundation it laid for his successful career. He describes how he “earned the right” to get lucky through his work ethic, reputation and network. He recognized that Annexus was a great, fast-growing business, and its founding principals were great partners for him to work with, as he transitioned from life in a big law firm to an in-house role. David started at Annexus as its general counsel and chief operating officer and now he serves as the company’s president where the business continues to grow and develop market-leading fixed indexed annuities and indexed universal life insurance products that help Americans grow and protect their retirement savings.

David has also spent over 20 years as a member of the Thunderbirds, a charitable organization that has served as the host of the PGA’s WM Phoenix Open since 1934. David discusses the history of the Thunderbirds organization and the WM Phoenix Open and talks about how it has grown into one of the largest spectator events in the world. The WM Phoenix Open no longer releases official attendance statistics, however, it’s estimated that they regularly host more than 700,000 spectators throughout the week and more than 200,000 spectators on Saturday’s round of the tournament. A highlight every year is the Annexus Celebrity Pro-Am played on the Wednesday of tournament week where notable celebrities like Larry Fitzgerald, Emmitt Smith, Alex Rodriguez and Carli Lloyd tee it up with famous PGA Tour players in a relaxed and fun event with local sponsors. As the title sponsor, David regularly plays in the event and talks about some of his favorite moments, including last year where his daughter served as his caddie and his playing partners were Michael Phelps and Rickie Fowler.

David and Brian highlight the incredible charitable and economic impact the WM Phoenix Open has every year on the Valley, with the Thunderbirds having raised a record $14.5 million for Arizona charities in 2023 and having an overall annual economic impact of nearly $1 billion.

Last, they discuss the amazing musical acts that perform at the Birds Nest every year following each round of the tournament with David and Brian noting a couple of their favorite concerts over the years as Kid Rock and Snoop Dogg, respectively. They also talk about the Concert in the Coliseum, in its third year in 2024, where the Saturday before the tournament begins, the Thunderbirds turn the famous Par 3 Hole 16 into a sold-out concert venue. Post Malone is headlining this year’s Concert in the Coliseum, while Dierks Bentley, Hardy, and Duran Duran will be performing at the Coors Light Birds Nest.

Please visit the links below for more information on David, Brian, Annexus, the WM Phoenix Open, and the host of The Attorney Lounge, Array.

Links:

David Rauch: https://arsfinancial.com/leadership-david-rauch/

Brian Roberts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beeberts/

Annexus: https://www.annexus.com

WM Phoenix Open : https://www.wmphoenixopen.com

Array: https://www.trustarray.com

Lawyers careers