CEO Profile: David Ingram
Like many VACEOs members, the term “entrepreneur” describes David Ingram best. He started his first business in high school at age 16, bought a competitor and then sold the combined business while in college. After college, he succeeded in running sales and operations organizations for both privately and publicly held companies, but was destined start his own business again. In 2001 he started Capital TechSearch to leverage his years of experience making the right and wrong hiring decisions to help his clients make the best possible decisions in building their most important asset — their people.
Capital TechSearch is a world-class technical recruiting firm supplying organizations with information technology talent on a contract, contract-to-hire, or permanent basis. Over the past nine and a half years Capital TechSearch has earned an outstanding reputation for effective sourcing, deployment and management of key talent for some of the regions’ top private and public companies primarily serving the health care, web services, and government space. This strength led Inc. Magazine to recognize Capital TechSearch as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America for the past three years running.
Ingram’s first book, “15 Bedtime Stories That Keep Entrepreneurs Awake at Night,” was recently released and features stories from his 15 years of entrepreneurship. Many members of the VACEOS shared their stories and gave Dave great suggestions on how to make the book even better. Learn more at www.15bedtimestories.com.
Dave has been a member of the VA Council of CEOs for four years. He is on the board and has served on the membership, sponsorship and retreat committees. He is currently the 2011 CEO Retreat chairman. Dave gives the VA Council of CEOs credit for helping him make it through the ups and downs or running a business. He calls his CEO Roundtable his “oasis” – a place of refuge to work on his business, to get perspective and inspiration.
A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Dave frequently lectures on business topics. He and wife Meridith and their children live in Richmond.
Firms Vie for 2011 Sponsorships
The VA Council of CEOs has introduced its 2011 Sponsorship Program. Click here to see current sponsors and download the 2011 package.
Council sponsors enjoy access to VACEOs unique, CEO-only events and meetings. Sponsors are limited in number and enjoy our safe-haven culture, where they mix with CEOs as colleagues and partners, building relationships first. Sponsors are selected based on the resource needs of the council.
There are currently only two openings for 2011 sponsorship, but expect them to fill within the next few weeks. Contact council executive director Scot McRoberts at 804-360-2644 to learn more.
The “Academy Awards of Business”
Entrepreneurs and CEOs of fast-growing businesses gathered in Washington D.C. over the last few days for the Inc. 500 Conference, celebrating the 2010 Inc. 500|5000 Awards. Ten of the sixteen Richmond area winners are VACEOs members. Congratulations to all.
Rossi, Morton & Fitzgerald smile for the paparazzi
Steve Kimball, Dave Ingram, Jo Ann Rossi and Jim Fitzgerald
Marketing in the “New Reality”
The Virginia Council of CEOs will host a CEO-only discussion on August 19.
Along with everything else, the way we market has changed in today’s business climate. Small and mid-sized businesses are finding new ways to reach customers while spending less.
Come prepared to share your experience . . .
- What’s working? What is not?
- Are you showing ROI from social media? If so, how?
- What are you doing differently than two years ago?
- Make a list of specific guerrilla & low cost strategies and/or tactics you have used (successful or not). Bring it to share.
About Knowledge Network
Knowledge Network is an informal gathering of Virginia Council of CEOs members, sponsors and guests for the purpose of sharing knowledge and experience. Lunch is provided.
The big idea is that the experts are in the room. Research shows that entrepreneurs learn best from other entrepreneurs. Come learn from the experts, and be prepared to share your experiences as well.
Get more details and sign up now at http://aug19kn.eventbrite.com/
Presented by
The Virginia Council of CEOs is a non-profit association that serves SMB CEOs by connecting them so that they can learn from each other. VACEOs members connect through: highly effective peer roundtables; unique learning events; and socials.
Interested in learning more? Just follow the leaders.
Execution as Strategy
There was some meaty conversation around Jay Goltz’s ten points from his CEO Retreat talk on “Execution Over Brilliance”. One of our CEOs surprised Jay with the question “these 10 points are all tactics; what were your strategies?” and Jay answered, basically, “I didn’t have a strategy.”
I think he did, even if it wasn’t conscious. Repeatedly he said “What makes a company great, not just mediocre?” One of Jay’s strategies is definitely execution. He just didn’t write it down. After getting to know Jay a bit, it is clear to me that execution just describes his personality (more on that another time) and therefore, the strategy emanated from him as he built the business.
Some other comments from our LinkedIn group:
- It seems Jay’s strategy is: “To provide a great customer experience.” All his points (tactics) were ultimately aimed at taking care of his customers.
- I would add that Jay also placed emphasis on finding the right people, training them, and dealing with those that need to go…quickly.
- At one level I believe he described in detail the strategy of Kaizan, which of course has been around for some time. The tweak in his presentation was that he was using definitive examples of refinement processes across multiple areas within his business. He might otherwise say his strategy is that of a hands-on owner/manager, which is characterized by an unwavering attention to detail. While he might suggest he is an 80-20 rule proponent, there doesn’t appear to be anything that he and his culture are going to allow to slip into the 20% bin.
- A powerful strategy can definitely emerge from a culture that cares about everything. Back to Erika’s point – he is “consistently making those core directional choices that will best move [him] toward [his] hoped for future.” He obviously believes this cannot happen without finding, maintaining, and growing the best people.
- I agree. Providing superior customer service, a highly qualified workforce, and a great place to work as a differentiators is a strategy in his market. Jay’s philosophies and modes of operation are the tactics that support his successful strategy. It is no doubt this strategy that has lead to his success.
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