Dave joined SPMB in 1997 and became a Managing Partner in 2003. He has since played a key leadership role in the firm’s national and global growth, enabling SPMB to become one of the world’s leading mid-sized retained search firms.
Since joining SPMB, one of Dave’s greatest achievements has been developing and maintaining the firm’s first-rate culture, which in turn, has attracted a first-rate search team. SPMB has a long history of not only developing and attracting some of the industry’s most skilled search professionals but also retaining them.
Within his own search practice, Dave’s clients range from high growth Venture- and Private Equity-backed organizations to multi-billion dollar public companies. His primary focus is C-Level Go To Market execs in B2B. Over his 25+ years in search, Dave has led hundreds of successful assignments and has proudly helped build the leadership teams for brand-name companies like Okta, Blackline, FireEye, SendGrid, Xero, Cohesity, EverCommerce, BlueVine, to name a few.
Early in his career, Dave launched, successfully ramped, and sold a self-funded Internet company. He then relocated to the Bay Area in 1997 and met SPMB founder Lee Schweichler. Given Dave’s background in technology and innovation, it was a mutual (and enduring!) fit for both Dave and SPMB.
Outside of work, when Dave is not spending time with his wife or coaching one of his three kids’ teams, you might find him on a tennis court making someone chase a deftly placed lob…humble brag: Dave was an All-American tennis player at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and remains an avid player today.
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).