Al Danto

Al Danto teaches the Entrepreneurial Pathways course, the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition course, and several E-Labs (Entrepreneurship Labs), which give students the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship in a real-world environment. He serves as faculty advisor to the Rice Veterans in Business Association, the Veterans Business Battle, and the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club and Conference, and he was a founder of the Rice Alumni Entrepreneurs and Innovators organization.

In addition to his role as Senior Lecturer, Al advises owners of privately held companies on developing and completing exit strategies, valuations, and due diligence representation. He is also a partner in Danto Langerud and Beachhead Investments, which invest in and have managed businesses across a wide variety of industries.

Al has more than 35 years of experience with startup and entrepreneurial companies, as well as the acquisition and divestiture of business interests. He founded Structured Graphics at age 24 and grew it through a series of acquisitions into a nationally recognized printing and document management company. The company was named the 145th fastest-growing company in the U.S. on the Inc. 500 list and was acquired in 2000 by Global Docugraphix, a national firm backed by private equity group Thoma Cressey.

After exiting the company, Al went on to invest in and launch several enterprises, including Universal Worker, an international healthcare training and recruitment firm that began as a class project during his Rice MBA.  He was also a seed investor in Arcemus, which was sold to publicly traded Iron Mountain.

Al has served as lead representative on a wide range of business acquisitions and has extensive experience working with lenders, private equity groups, and individual purchasers. He has served on a variety of boards, including the alumni board of the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University and the Entrepreneurs' Organization. Al is a Certified Valuation Analyst. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Mathematics from Central Michigan University and his MBA from Rice University.

Teaching Interests: 

• Enterprise acquisition
• New enterprise
• Entrepreneurship