Based in New York, Frankel oversees the growth of firstRain's financial services business and delivery of custom-configured vertical search services to leading hedge funds, investment managers and investment banks.

"As we focus on serving the needs of leading investment firms, David is the natural choice to lead firstRain's financial services vertical," said Penny Herscher, president and CEO of firstRain. "He brings a deep understanding of the types of critical information financial professionals depend on when making an investment decision."

firstRain offers investment professionals a vertical search solution that enhances a client's ability to understand companies, their competitive landscape, or "ecosystem." In his role at firstRain, Frankel drives the strategy to enhance the value analysts and portfolio managers receive from their primary research process as the investment community faces increasing challenges from shrinking research resources and intensifying scrutiny on soft dollars. Integral to these efforts is his oversight of firstRain's experienced client services team that includes MBAs, CFA candidates and industry professionals. This group works with clients to seamlessly integrate firstRain's vertical search solutions in their research efforts and enhance their ability to locate intelligence that is not already priced into the market.

Frankel previously spent more than eleven years at FactSet Research Systems, an industry-leading financial technology firm that serves the global institutional investment community, and held leadership positions in sales, marketing and business development. He led the team that built the foundation for FactSet's current global product marketing strategy as vice president of marketing, and contributed to the creation of a new business development department focused on establishing key strategic alliances as vice president of content and partnerships.

Most recently, Frankel was vice president of sales at BNY Jaywalk, the independent research consultancy division of the Bank of New York, where he created a go-to-market strategy for a business line that targeted broker-dealers. In addition to furthering Jaywalk's role as an independent research thought leader, he increased market share by establishing relationships with several online brokerage firms and leading service providers to the financial community.

"The role of research in the investment process is evolving. firstRain is creating a new way to generate investment returns by delivering hard-to-find sources of qualitative market intelligence right to the desktop," said David Frankel, vice president of financial services at firstRain. "I look forward to expanding our footprint in the market by continuing our commitment to client service and market expertise."