David Salyers was one of the original two marketing executives at Chick-fil-A. He spent 37 years in the Marketing Department helping to shape its marketing success, including the iconic Cow Campaign. He most recently served as Vice President of Marketing, Growth and Hospitality.
Starting with Chick-fil-A four hours after college graduation, his first office was in a mobile home attached to an airfreight warehouse in Hapeville, GA. He had a front row seat to watch the organization grow from those humble beginnings to a multibillion-dollar organization with over 2500 locations around the country and around the world.
Having worked at Chick-fil-A for most of his career, he saw how the principles of servant leadership and generosity helped to build a remarkable brand and culture. He is now using his experience, expertise and passion to spark the growth of individuals, teams and organizations wanting to do the same.
David attended Wake Forest University, the Universidad de Madrid and graduated from the University of Georgia Business School. David currently serves as a board member for numerous organizations and has helped launch several startups and nonprofits, including:
- Board member, SouthState Bank (NYSE-SSB)
- Founding partner, and board member, ROAM
- Partner and board member, ADDO worldwide
- Partner and board member, the HUB
- Partner and board member, BaseLedger
- Cofounder, Champion Tribes
- Board of directors, fab’rik
David has been an enthusiastic supporter of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. He has had particular interest in the Terry College Institute for Leadership Advancement. He is a member of the Terry Dean’s Advisory Council, currently serving as the Chairman. He has been a winner of the Bulldog 100 award on multiple occasions.
In 2017, David was awarded the University of Georgia Terry College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2019, he was appointed as the inaugural Startup Mentor Executive in Residence for UGA.
Throughout his career, David has had a passion to serve leaders who are equally committed to building remarkable brands and cultures. He intuitively sees the potential in others and organizations, learning from his time at Chick-fil-A that the counterintuitive approach is often the best one.
After participating in and learning from the extraordinary success of Chick-fil-A, David realized the business principles used to catapult that organization can work anytime and anywhere, no matter the size of the team or company. He endeavored to capture many of those principles and lessons in his book Remarkable!, which he co-authored with Dr. Randy Ross. The book debuted on Feb. 16, 2016 as the #1 selling Business Management book on Amazon.
Now, David is attracted to the opportunity to help companies create a competitive advantage by building Remarkable! cultures and brands. He is on a mission to help create brands and cultures more defined by meaning than money — organizations that achieve success in a manner that redefines it!
David's talk on culture was paramount in getting our system aligned and excited about our Mission, vision, and core values. David's talk was the highlight of our two-day conference and we'd recommend his inspirational message to any organization that aims to be the best in the world.
David's talk on culture was paramount in getting our system aligned and excited about our Mission, vision, and core values. David's talk was the highlight of our two-day conference and we'd recommend his inspirational message to any organization that aims to be the best in the world.