Global Executive and Revenue Leader

David E. Dembowski is a global Chief Revenue Officer and commercial transformation executive with more than 20 years of experience building and scaling technology businesses across public-company and private-equity-backed environments.  He has led organizations and P&Ls generating $300M+ in revenue, built high-performing global teams, and helped companies turn new technologies, changing customer expectations, and market disruption into sustainable growth.

As Chief Revenue Officer at Operative, a Francisco Partners portfolio company, David leads the enterprise-wide commercial organization across sales, marketing, and professional services in more than 20 international markets, with responsibility for the full revenue engine of a $250M+ global technology business. His leadership has delivered ten consecutive quarters of double-digit bookings growth, increased client renewal rates to 95%, expanded the addressable market, and strengthened revenue predictability.

David's experience spans enterprise SaaS, AI, data, digital platforms, professional services, and technology-enabled businesses.  Across leadership roles at Operative, Yahoo, IgnitionOne, and Standard Media Index, he has transformed go-to-market models, scaled commercial organizations, negotiated complex enterprise partnerships, launched new revenue streams, and led organizations through acquisitions and periods of significant industry change. At Yahoo, he helped integrate sales organizations across 38 technology acquisitions, aligning teams, leadership, compensation, and commercial strategy.

A central theme throughout David's career has been connecting strategy to execution. He believes sustainable growth requires more than a strong sales organization; it requires an integrated commercial operating model that aligns sales, marketing, product, services, partnerships, and customer success around measurable customer value.  His leadership approach emphasizes clear accountability, strong decision-making, talent development, and operating rhythms that make performance visible, predictable, and repeatable.

David is particularly focused on the commercial potential of artificial intelligence and how AI can transform products, customer experiences, and enterprise workflows.  He has led commercialization and go-to-market strategy for AI-powered technology recognized with IBC Innovation Awards in both 2024 and 202.  He has served as an executive sponsor for award-winning AI innovation at NAB.  His executive education includes MIT's Implementing Organizational Agentic AI and Systems Thinking & Organizational Leadership programs, as well as the Francisco Partners Leadership Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

David is also an active writer and speaker on leadership, technology, AI, media, and business transformation, with more than 100 published articles and appearances at industry forums including Cannes Lions, IBC, StreamTV, Adweek, and Google Summits.  His work has put him in rooms with some of the world's largest technology companies, broadcasters, media organizations, and sports properties.

Whether transforming an established business, scaling a new revenue engine, integrating an acquisition, or preparing a company for its next stage of growth, David's focus remains consistent: align people, strategy, and execution to turn transformation into measurable results.