With over 30 years’ experience, David has built a highly respected reputation in the IT services industry working in and with services companies and vendors as a consultant, executive coach, and speaker. David has a long track record of successfully helping service-centric firms develop their portfolio of services and delivery mechanisms to increase revenue; reduce service delivery costs; achieve closer, more stable relationships with clients; and create predictable cash flow.  His expertise encompasses strategy, operations, services definition, mergers and acquisitions planning, and integration, marketing, sales, technology, corporate governance, team building, and leadership.

 

In 2007, David founded Transformation Strategies to take his extensive knowledge of the technology service space and use it to enable service providers to create scalable business and succeed with recurring revenue models such as managed services, cloud services, or Software as a Service (SaaS).

 

Since 1987, David has worked with hundreds of clients, large and small, across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, encompassing many vertical markets.

 

David began focusing on managed services and recurring revenue models at the beginning of their introduction to IT integrators in 1999 while Senior Vice President, Technology at Devise Associates, Inc., (later acquired by Intelispan, Inc., McLeodUSA, and Emtec, Inc.).  He became the firm’s Senior Vice President of Managed Services, designing and implementing Devise’s managed services practice from initial concept to revenue-generating service, operating 24x7, serving a wide variety of clients.

 

Later, as Vice President, Managed Services at Exenet LLC, Schafran overhauled all aspects of the firm’s managed services offering, including service definitions, pricing, positioning, staffing, operations, and infrastructure.  As a result, client satisfaction skyrocketed, the business became scalable and revenue increased over 300%.

 

From 2008 to 2011, David was named to ‘The MSPmentor 250’, an annual listing of the top 250 executives and leaders shaping the managed services ecosystem, until 2012 when he was named to MSPmentor’s inaugural “Locked in the NOC” hall of fame list.  His approach to managed services has influenced best practices in many aspects of the industry.

 

Additionally, from 2010 to 2013, Schafran was also a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cogent Growth Partners, a buy-side mergers and acquisitions firm specifically focused on the IT Services space. Cogent’s life-cycle approach included M&A strategy definition; acquisition candidate search; deal negotiation; due diligence; drafting of transaction documents as well as integration planning, management, and execution.  This holistic approach enabled the realization of maximum value from transactions and reduction of risks that often accompany acquisitions.   At Cogent, David led the operational evaluation of acquisition candidates and clients; pre and post-transaction integration; and client management.

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Recently from 2015 to 2016, David took on a longer-term engagement for one of his consulting clients as the President of Aldridge Health. In his first four months, David assumed responsibility of a previous acquisition, Clyde Bennet & Associates, vetted and completed a second acquisition, the divestiture of Pact-One’s Texas, Oregon, and Washington markets, including over 600 dental IT clients, and successfully combined the two.  The newly rebranded company, Aldridge Health, was an IT services firm specializing in developing, implementing, and supporting high-quality technology solutions for dental and medical practices. As the President, David guided the strategic direction and operational delivery ensuring outstanding service that built lasting client relationships.  In June of 2016, Aldridge Health was awarded the number seventeen spot on ChannelE2E’s Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs List for 2016.

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Mr. Schafran is an active volunteer in efforts to fight multiple sclerosis (MS).  Since 2007 he has served on the Board of Directors of MS Hope for a Cure (www.MSHopeForACure.org).  Since its inception, MS Hope for a Cure has raised over $8 million dollars. In turn, the organization has funded eighty-two grants for critical research and programs to help people living with MS.

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Previously he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York City chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and held several executive volunteer positions with its fundraising auxiliary, The Manhattan Society, including Co-Chair and Senior Co-Chair.  In 2002 he formed an MS Walk team which has morphed into an indoor cycling team, together the teams have raised over $500,000.

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In addition, since April of 2014, David has been an active member of the Volunteer Dive Team of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. The team members dive within the shark tank and host interactive educational sessions with the audience to educate, inspire, and entertain on the subjects of sharks, conservation, SCUBA diving, and Long Island Sound.  The tank is 110,000 gallons and is home to a variety of sea life including seven Sand Tiger sharks and one Lemon shark.

 

David can be reached at david@TransStrat.com or you can follow him on Twiter here