Dave Mullarkey joined Schweichler Associates in 1997 (oh my!) and has played a major leadership role in the firm’s growth and success. He became a Managing Partner in 2003 and has been COO for the past eight years. During his tenure, Schweichler Price Mullarkey & Barry (now SPMB for short) has become one of the world’s leading mid-sized retained search firms. His passion around client focus and search execution permeates throughout the firm.
Dave’s clients range from high growth Venture and PE backed companies to multi-billion dollar public companies. He recruits CEOs and Senior Officer level executives in Infrastructure, Software, and Consumer, and has led hundreds of retained searches. He’s proud to have helped build the executive teams for many wildly successful companies…Fitbit, Lynda.com, FireEye, AppDynamics, Xero, Blackline, Nutanix, and Riverbed, to name a few.
Prior to getting into retained search Dave was Founder/CEO of an Internet Consulting company (the early days of the WWW!). That experience motivated him to join Lee Schweichler’s search firm… he wanted to work with the best, and learn first hand how top tier venture capitalists and experienced execs ramped their companies. He’s loved being in the business ever since.
Dave is a graduate from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he met his future wife. They’ve been happily married for 20 years now, live in Marin County (her hometown – now you know who’s in charge), and have three magical kids!
Sectors: Technology, Consumer
Which band would you love to tour with?
Dave Brubeck in his prime, and I’d love to do it with my dad (jazz was his passion and Brubeck his favorite)!
What is the one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
At Cal Poly I played on the tennis team, and earned All-American honors. That’s my athletic claim to fame! It’s all been downhill since. My nickname on the team was “Machine” – a heavy topspin baseliner looking to grind it out, give body blows, and wear down an opponent.
What is your favorite book?
Shogun. A mind blowing story! Full of culture, complex challenges, deep relationships, adventure and action. Read it a few times now and it never gets old.
What sports star would you most like to meet?
Stephen Curry. My son loves Curry, and I’d like nothing more than for him to grow into the kind of man that Steph is (family oriented, fearless, confident yet humble, team oriented, and a competitive passion for winning that drives tremendous work ethic).