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Business Value Creation
Can this leader improve growth, margin, customer value, or enterprise value?
Dave Sanders helps CEOs, boards, and investors recruit senior executives who improve revenue, execution, and enterprise value — and brings the board perspective, investor relationships, and business judgment that make the hire a better decision.
Dave has spent 30+ years helping companies evaluate, attract, and close senior leaders. The search is the starting point; the larger value is the judgment, relationships, and business context he brings to the decision — revenue, runway, execution, people risk, board alignment, and enterprise value.
Retained search for senior technology, growth, and operating leaders who must perform in high-stakes environments.
Clear thinking on role design, success profile, compensation, candidate calibration, and board alignment.
Practical perspective from advising founders, boards, and growth companies on revenue, scale, and execution.
Introductions to investors, operators, customers, and partners who can help beyond the search.
Who Dave Works With
One of the reasons clients receive value beyond the search. In the right situations, Dave can help clients access relationships across the capital, operator, board, and technology ecosystems.
Long-standing relationships in angel investing and early-stage company evaluation.
Connections across venture investors, portfolio companies, and emerging-growth leadership teams.
Relationships with private capital sources and long-term oriented business investors.
Perspective on PE-backed leadership needs, value-creation plans, and executive hiring risk.
Direct relationships with executives who have scaled companies, led teams, and solved operating problems.
Deep technology leadership relationships built through years of CIO/CTO peer group involvement.
Dave's core focus is senior technology leadership for emerging-growth, founder-led, PE-backed, and investor-backed companies.
…and adjacent technology transformation, growth, and operating leadership roles — including leadership upgrades ahead of M&A, funding, or exit.
Dave is most useful when the hiring decision carries strategic weight — not when a company simply needs resumes.
AI, cybersecurity, data, or product execution now needs senior leadership clarity.
The leader who got you here may not be the one for the next stage.
The right executive connects leadership, technology, and GTM to measurable outcomes.
Sponsors and boards need confidence the company has the right leadership to scale.
Leadership gaps and weak systems become enterprise-value issues before a transaction.
The process starts with outcomes, not credentials — evaluating candidates against the leadership, business, and operating realities of the company.
Can this leader improve growth, margin, customer value, or enterprise value?
Can this person attract talent and operate at the company's next stage?
Do they understand the technical and market realities that matter?
Can they simplify complexity and earn trust with senior stakeholders?
Have they operated in companies with similar pressure, ambiguity, and scale?
Disciplined and relationship-driven. The goal is not activity — it is a successful leadership decision.
Clarify the role, business problem, success outcomes, and stakeholder alignment before outreach.
Translate growth stage, risk profile, and priorities into a clear candidate assessment framework.
Identify relevant companies, executives, referral sources, investors, and leadership communities.
Reach high-quality candidates through direct search, trusted relationships, and market intelligence.
Evaluate business judgment, operating depth, technical credibility, and stage relevance.
Assist with interviews, references, compensation strategy, offer negotiation, and transition.
Dave focuses on retained executive searches for technology, growth, and operating leaders — including CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, data/AI leaders, VP Engineering, and other senior executives.
He brings market judgment, board and investor perspective, role calibration, compensation guidance, candidate assessment, and strategic introductions where appropriate.
CEOs, founders, boards, investors, PE-backed companies, family-owned businesses, and growth companies making high-impact leadership decisions.
Whether you're hiring a CIO, upgrading a CTO, building AI/data leadership, or thinking through a high-stakes leadership decision, schedule a confidential conversation.
Book a confidential 30-minute call directly on Dave's calendar.
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