Attorney Millard remembered as entrepreneurial champion

David B. Millard, a longtime Indianapolis attorney known for his passionate support of entrepreneurs, died Dec. 3.

Millard, 60, led the corporate law division at Barnes & Thornburg LLP—the city’s largest law practice—before retiring last year after 20 years at the firm.

David Millard

He counseled large-cap, middle-market and high-growth businesses, as well as venture capital and private equity funds. His obituary says he loved helping the underdog, with his heart always being with entrepreneurial high-growth businesses.

Millard served as president of The Venture Club of Indiana as well as the Entrepreneur’s Alliance of Indiana. He also had been chair of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Business Council. Millard joined the boards of Auctor Corp. and Elevate Ventures, both based in Indianapolis, within the past month.

He was a former columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Bruce Kidd, senior vice president of business development at Walker Information Inc. and former director of entrepreneurship for the Indiana Economic Development Corp., worked with Millard frequently over the years on business deals and with entrepreneurship initiatives and organizations.

In an email to IBJ, Kidd called Millard “a champion for the ‘little guy,’" who was “integral” for the past 25 years “in the entrepreneurial, venture capital and economic development communities, as well as with higher ed entrepreneurship programs at both Indiana University and Ball State.”

“He invested the better part of 30 years advising hundreds of entrepreneurial companies and small business owners all around the state of Indiana as an attorney, a mentor and a friend,” Kidd said. “He also donated countless amounts of his time, talent and treasure to support entrepreneurs and their companies, as well as key organizations in the economic development community.”

Millard was born and raised in Kokomo and received his business and law degrees from Indiana University and Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.

He lived in Greenwood with his wife, Pamela. The couple had three sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren.