Three sports letterman at William R. Boone High School in Orlando, Florida playing football, basketball and competed in track and field.[3] In basketball was first-team All-Metro Conference and in football played tight end and defensive end making the All-State team playing in the 1981 Sunshine State Game,[4] was chosen first-team to the All-Metro Conference and All-Central Florida squads, MVP of his high school football team and school Hall of Fame.[5]
College career
Dan Upperco finished his college career at Columbia University with 16 touchdowns, 107 receptions, 1,587 receiving yards averaging over 35 catches and over 500 yards during each of his three varsity years;[6] setting a number of Columbia records and at one time held the Ivy League record of catches in a single game with 13. He made the All-Ivy League teams every year during his varsity career (1st team his junior & senior year, Honorable Mention sophomore year).[4][7] He was Sporting News Preseason All-American and made the Playboy 's Pigskin Preview Issue All-East team. Dan was chosen as team MVP his senior year winning the prestigious “Smythe Cup”[8] with Columbia's football tradition being the 3rd longest in the nation playing the 2nd collegiate football game in 1870.[9]
Professional sports career
Upperco signed with the Las Vegas Raiders franchise, which at the time was located in Los Angeles. He played during the pre-season and had a knee injury against the Dallas Cowboys sidelining him for the rest of the 1985 season.[10] served and is currently a five-term Officer (Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) for the National Football League Retired Players Association, New York/New Jersey Chapter.
Dan has held senior executive roles across corporate, private, and government-backed organizations, with a focus on finance, operations, and business transformation. His 30-year career includes CFO roles on three different continents spanning sectors telecommunications, consumer products, real estate, aerospace, and sovereign investment.
He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Duraflame, a U.S.-based manufacturer of fire logs and related products, where he oversaw finance, human resources, information technology, safety, and risk management across multiple brands and production lines.
Previously, Dan spent nine years as an expatriate in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Rio de Janeiro as an executive with Mubadala Development Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Abu Dhabi. At Mubadala, he held roles as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in several business units, including those focused on aerospace, real estate, construction, and hospitality.
Dan also helped established the fund’s first international office in Rio de Janeiro and was involved in the management of assets totaling over $2 billion, including a portfolio of distressed investments. His work was part of broader initiatives under the direction of the Al Nahyan family and former Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Upperco held positions at organizations including MTB Banking, AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Laboratories, Cares Built, Avaya Business Solutions and Virgin Mobile USA. Currently, working ad hoc as an Interim and Fractional CFO, advising companies on restructuring, capital efficiency, and performance improvement.
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