Dave has deep experience partnering globally with boards, private equity sponsors, CEOs and CHROs needing to build, develop and enable high-performing, diverse and transformational leadership teams.

Dave Zeman is a core member of Spencer Stuart’s Industrial, CEO, Board, Private Equity and Restructuring practices. Dave specializes across industrial manufacturing businesses with a particular depth in the process industries. Based in Chicago, Dave brings more than a decade of experience at Spencer Stuart guiding publicly traded, private equity-sponsored and privately held companies through CEO, board and C-suite search and succession engagements, as well as merger integration, culture transformation and team effectiveness engagements.

Industries

  • Chemicals
  • Materials
  • Packaging
  • Building Products
  • Process Automation
  • Metals

 

Expertise

  • Board
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • President
  • Private Equity
  • Restructuring
  • Succession
  • Diversity
  • Executive Compensation

 

Recent work

  • More than 150 CEO and board search and succession engagements
  • Recruited numerous CEOs with prior proven private equity-backed experience
  • Partnered with numerous newly appointed CEOs to selectively augment their direct report teams
  • Advised a board and CEO on over a dozen leadership appointments as the company implemented a new corporate strategy and integrated a transformative acquisition
  • Following a highly successful IPO, brought the full breadth of Spencer Stuart’s functional expertise to build a new C-suite leadership team, including CFO, GC, CIO and CHRO

Previous industrial experience:

  • Corporate and financial sponsor banker covering diversified industrials at Wells Fargo
  • General management experience at a privately held manufacturer serving diversified industrial and medical end markets

Education

  • M.E.M., Engineering Management, Northwestern University
  • B.S., Mathematics, University of Iowa

Practice Areas