Dave DESS

Dave has over 25 years of achieving business results through strategic planning, brand management, new product development and integrated marketing communications. He has built exceptional customer value for Fortune 100 public and private companies. He has led large-scale strategic initiatives that span domestic and international markets as well as highly targeted tactical campaigns. In addition, he has consulted with clients ranging from Nestle, Russell Financial, and Rogers Wireless (Canada) to start-up and early-life companies.

Dave also serves as an adjunct professor at California State University at Sacramento where he teaches Executive MBA Product and Brand Management courses.

Prior Experience

Dave has been responsible for marketing strategy and execution across diverse business challenges in B2B and B2C products and services companies. He has held senior executive positions in high tech and retail (e.g., launching Sprint PCS and expanding to over 800 company-owned retail locations), healthcare (at Vision Service Plan, UnitedHealth Group and Erickson Living), consumer optical products (at Bausch & Lomb), and packaged goods (at Pepsi-Cola and Coors). Dave has aligned marketing strategy with business objectives to successfully manage significant change as a result of dramatic growth, turnaround, mergers, crisis management and re-organization (including Chapter 11). He has been personally accountable for marketing and advertising budgets ranging from $7MM to $720MM.

Education

Dave earned his MBA and BS from the University of Washington, and an MS from Western Washington University.