Dr. Dave Chapman grew up in Central Missouri and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia earning an AB in Psychology. Soon after graduation, he moved to Minnesota where he worked with high school kids while earning Master’s degrees in both Theology and Psychology. His career took an abrupt change in direction when he was appointed Assistant Dean for the Graduate Programs in Management at the University of St. Thomas. He spent 13 years working at St. Thomas helping build the MBA and Masters of International Management programs into one of the largest programs in the US. In 1995 after earning his PsyD from St. Thomas, he resigned as the Director of Student and Faculty Services and joined a large national consulting firm as a consulting manager. He traveled in the U.S., Canada, and Europe to provide services to clients in manufacturing, construction, healthcare, biotechnology, software development, high technology, agriculture, retail, professional services, financial services, and not-for-profit organizations. He developed an international reputation with privately held companies doing succession planning, strategy, organizational development, and executive coaching. Over the years he developed significant expertise in working with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies. As a student of leadership theory and practice, he has coached many Entrepreneurs and C-Suite executives on becoming more effective leaders. Through this experience, he has developed a deep understanding of the human dynamics that operate in every organizational system.
After four years working for national consulting firms, Dave took his wife’s advice and started The Chapman Group, LLC, and has successfully owned and operated his own consulting practice for the last 25 years. His company has been successful due to a very powerful referral system based on client satisfaction and trust. As a side note, Dave has experience running a large, complex organization responsible for generating over 120 million dollars in revenue. The experience helped “inform” his work with executives and owners of entrepreneurial companies!
Dave’s approach to his work with executives is based on organizational needs as well as the need for individuals to expand their span of influence and strategic view. In his experience, the set of skills/gifts that brought the executive to their current role may need to be modified to accommodate a larger set of responsibilities. This change is a tough “psychological” challenge and is difficult to navigate without help. To help manage this kind of “transformation” Dave uses a rigorous process that includes formal assessment and 360-degree feedback. Based on the information gathered, a formal development plan is then built and implemented.
Dr. Chapman has done a great deal of community service through his participation with local non-profit boards and community agencies. Once again his leadership skills have been recognized through his work and he has been elected Board Chair in several large agencies.
Dave currently lives in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and partners with Executive Talent Partners.