I create Thinking Partnerships with leaders to improve performance

David is Co-CEO of fassforward Consulting Group. He partners with clients to improve their leadership, culture, productivity, and life/work balance. He leads fassforward's Executive Coaching practice, oversees finance and is focused on developing FCG’s biggest asset, its people and culture.

Prior to joining the fassforward, David spent 20 years on Wall Street. He worked at Morgan Stanley for 9 years in Institutional Equity Derivatives where he managed Hedge Fund Sales Trading. David was also a leader in the firm’s recruiting program, taught in the training program, and was a significant contributor in the growth of the firm’s derivative platform for hedge fund clients. In 2008, David joined New Mountain Capital to launch a risk management strategy and start a trading desk for the firm’s hedge fund with assets of approximately $1 billion. In 2010, he was promoted to Portfolio Manager, co-managing the hedge fund, which had grown to over $2 billion in assets. 
Through his work at fassforward, his yoga studio and his charity, David has enjoyed being focused on "doing good things for good people". David received his A.B., magna cum laude from Princeton University.

David Frost

More companies are hiring culture coaches and that's a meaningful shift.

What stood out to me in this article is how closely this increased emphasis on culture mirrors a big focus of fassforward's executive coaching:

• “Culture is the invisible machine that creates all future things”
Gavin McMahon in his new book Story Business (see first comment). Culture isn’t catchy lines on the wall. It’s a system. It need stewards, storytellers, and coaches. If no one is reinforcing the culture story, something else will.

• Outside perspective creates movement.
Progress accelerates when leaders have someone who isn’t embedded in internal dynamics offering challenge, clarity, and context.

• Leadership capability is the real lever.
Culture doesn’t change through values statements. It changes through how leaders show up under pressure.

• Trust determines depth.
People tend to go further when they believe the coach is fully in service of their growth, not balancing that with internal agendas.

• Internal ownership and external coaching works.
One of our clients has a Director of Culture we partner closely with, clear stewardship inside, supported by trusted outside coaches.

Interesting to see culture investments catching up to what coaching has long emphasized.

What are you noticing in how organizations are approaching culture differently?

#fassforward #Leadership #Storytelling #ExecutiveCoaching #OrganizationalHealth

Open article: Why more companies are hiring ‘Culture Coaches’ by fastcompany.com

Why more companies are hiring ‘Culture Coaches’

Top leadership lessons from 2025.

Reflecting on 2025 as we head into 2026, three lessons stand out to me:

1️⃣ Trust is under strain.
In 20 years on Wall Street and 8 years working with leadership teams, I do not think I have seen a bigger trust deficit.

Some factors driving it: Post COVID distributed work with less in person contact. More short termism/performance pressure without psychological safety. Change fatigue. AI entering the mainstream. An increasingly divided geopolitical landscape.

As Patrick Lencioni reminds us, trust is the foundation of every effective leadership team.

At fassforward, we see trust grow with the teams we work with when leaders stay disciplined around the 3 Cs: Clarity. Communication. Consistency.

2️⃣ Simplicity over complexity.
Less is more, especially when it comes to purpose, vision, mission and strategy.

The more you distill, the more alignment you create.

Research consistently shows teams can remember three strategic priorities. Not four.

If people cannot repeat it, they cannot execute it.

Look at the simplicity of the United States Military Academy at West Point approach below. 

3️⃣ Prioritizing self care.
The same forces eroding trust are also driving stress and burnout.

For most leaders, work and family take priority with a very wide gap for personal time. I recently restarted Hot26 Yoga, which saved me on wall street. Find your preferred self-care practice, prioritize it and narrow the gap. 

When leaders take care of themselves, their teams and families feel it first.

Bonus lesson: leadership takes practice.
Over the holidays, I reread "Story Business" by my partner Gavin McMahon. 

It is a great reminder that the best leaders practice on improving how they communicate, not just what they say. Link in the first comment. 

Effective leadership in 2026 will not be about doing more.
It will be about building trust, simplifying relentlessly, prioritizing self care, and communicating with clarity and purpose.

What would you add to the list?

Happy New Year!!!

Senior Director, Strategic Planning, Biostatistical Consulting Services at ICON PLC

I help organizations maximize the value of their sponsor-CRO partnerships, whether responding to commercial or federal RFPs, navigating CRO selection, or optimizing delivery strategies.

With 20 years leading proposals, delivery strategy, and contracts for global CROs, plus sponsor-side resource forecasting and vendor governance experience, I've delivered complex agreements valued from $1.5M to $300M+ across pharma, emerging biotech, and federal (NIH, NIAID, BARDA, DoD) sectors in oncology, rare disease, cell & gene therapy, infectious disease, cardiovascular, metabolic, CNS, reproductive health, and inflammation.

Leading the full lifecycle of clinical research proposals and contracts: RFx strategy and response, SOW and pricing model development, Master Service Agreement and change order negotiation, and vendor governance, I bridge sponsor needs and delivery capabilities, whether a federal health research contract, an emerging biotech Phase 1 or 2 study, a pharma Phase 3/3b trial, a regulatory application, a RWE study, or FSP engagement.

Combining strategic thinking with operational discipline, I consistently deliver measurable results: 70% reduction in budget cycle times, 10%-25% reduction in uncompensated delivery per project through budget accuracy, scope and change order management. I also build Excel-based pricing models bringing transparency to complex pricing, perform scenario modeling and sensitivity analyses to ensure cost-effectiveness and margin protection, offer sponsor-side experience managing vendor resource forecasting and governance, and facilitate Red Team exercises that stress-test assumptions and strategies.

RFx Strategy & Response | Proposals | Contracts & Change Orders | Full-Service & FSP | Phase 1-4 Clinical Trials | Federal Health Contracting (NIH, BARDA, DoD) | FAR-Compliant Cost Proposals | Inactive Secret Clearance | CRO Pricing & Delivery Strategy | Master Service Agreement Negotiation | Win Strategy & Competitive Intelligence | Excel-Based Financial Modeling | Scenario Planning & Analysis | Certified Red Team Instructor | Cross-Functional Leadership (BD, Ops, Finance, Legal) | Vendor Governance | GCP-ICH Compliance | Coach & Mentor | Notary Public

#OpenToWork Seeking senior IC and director-level opportunities leading proposal and contracts functions, building teams, or creating strategic value in sponsor-CRO partnerships. Reach out if you're hiring for CRO proposals and contracts, clinical outsourcing, federal health contracting, or BD roles.

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