The recipient of a bachelor's degree in finance, a juris doctor, and a master's degree in international relations, all from the University of Virginia, David Colin Burke began his career as an associate at the law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown, and Enersen in San Francisco. He later became an international capital markets attorney at Linklaters, working out of London and Paris. Later, David Colin Burke served as the vice president of business development and general counsel to iMediation, a French Internet start-up enterprise.

David Colin Burke returned to San Francisco in 2001 and spent three years as managing director of The Investment Fund for Foundations. Focused primarily on funds in venture capital and private equity, he oversaw its portfolio and served on the boards of multiple companies in which the firm invested. Subsequently, he became managing director of the Stanford Management Company and, in 2005, founded Makena Capital Management, LLC.

Under his leadership as CEO from 2013 to 2019, Makena rose to become one of the world's largest investment management firms, in charge of more than $20 billion in assets. He remains the managing director of the family investment office Tuolumne Capital, LP.