Cultivate Gratitude
Inspire Kindness
Multiply Generosity
David collaborates with corporate leaders and their
teams to deepen their self-awareness, empowering
them to achieve their most cherished dreams and
ambitious goals for themselves, their organization,
and their community.
Biography
David Samuel Straus
David Samuel Straus is a Father, Poet, former Tech CEO and accomplished Transformational Leadership and Executive Coach, working with clients globally helping them achieve their most desired dreams and reminding them who they truly are deep inside and how miraculous of a world they can create for themselves, their organization and the community around them.
He began his executive coaching practice in 2011 with a focus in connecting “Heart Thinking” with “Head Thinking.”
After selling his first company to Amazon in 2008, he created and headed up the Los Angeles office of IMDb (a division of Amazon). In 2013, he formed, along with his partners, his next company, Critical Mass Studios Inc. (CMS). In that same year CMS acquired Rightsline Software (Rightsline.com). Today Rightsline is the go-to SaaS platform for managing rights in the entertainment industry. Their clients are among the largest entertainment companies around the world including Disney, Universal, Amazon and Sony Pictures.
In 2016, Straus began a professional transition from spending the majority of his time as CEO of CMS to focusing on coaching, leadership development and speaking publicly on those subjects.
Straus’ clients are often members of the C- Suite of public and private companies. He has worked with teams in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
When not coaching he invests in social entrepreneurial ventures and advises entrepreneurs on best practices for raising capital and building customer and shareholder value. Straus lives in Los Angeles with his family. In his free time he can seen hiking one of the local trails, writing and discussing the unknowns of the universe, or leading a free community call on one of the Third_Eye_Thirst Publishing platforms.
There is no such thing as work/life balance,
there is only work/life integration.
"We don’t lose part of ourselves when we enter our work day. If we honor the fact that our work and our non-work are simply different parts of the same person then we can benefit from all aspects of who we are as we flow through different aspects of our day. The outcome of this integration allows us to mindfully engage with our full life, always paying attention to our own tether connecting us to why we are here. Ultimately this means we experience more fun, more love, more enjoyment – more often."
- David Straus
We work with some of the world’s most-loved and well known brands in a wide range of verticals globally. Over the years we have collected testimonials of how other’s perceive our work.
Not all testimonials are from clients, some are from those who have simply
witnessed our work or our workshops.
Our client list is confidential.
“David is one of our most effective coaches and group facilitators for our senior leaders and teams at LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a purpose-driven company, and David’s style and focus resonate deeply. With his own experience as an executive himself, he is able to establish credibility very quickly. David speaks the language of a data-driven executive, but has the compassion and insight of a master coach, consistently evoking transformation across a spectrum of leaders, topics, and goals.”
Jeremy Stover
Leadership Development & Coaching
LinkedIn
“David is an exceptional coach who regularly pushed me outside of my comfort zone. While I sometimes hated that in the moment, it led to deeper reflection, increased self-discovery, and real change. Some coaches focus solely on helping leaders hit business objectives or goals. David takes a holistic approach because he takes a stand for who his clients want to be in the world. The result was powerful and has helped me not just win at work but in all aspects of my life.”
Nathan Tanner
HR Director
DoorDash
“David and his team were suburb facilitators; their contributions resulted in the off-site being reviewed by my team as the best I have convened. The material was thought-provoking, insightful, and engaging while also truly pragmatic and actionable for all involved; my team was inspired and wanted more, but also felt they had results to work with immediately. Even more remarkable, in a traditional setting, they brought new thinking and new energy, sparking true excitement in every one of my team members.”
Robert Kessler
Vice President & General Counsel
Aetna Medicaid & State-Sponsored Business
“David is not only a captivating speaker but a gifted teacher. His fresh perspective and insightful approach on authentic alignment and leadership in a Fortune 100 context left me feeling inspired, motivated, and wanting to hear more. I walked away thinking that he was speaking my language and even wishing that he could be my personal Guru!”
Becky Cotton
Guru+ Internal Coaching
Google
“I greatly enjoyed David Straus’s engaging and well researched talk on “Heart-Centered Leadership.” He connected the dots for the audience on the power of purpose in being an effective leader. He introduced core principles of leadership in novel, fresh ways and entertained with rarely told stories of early technological breakthroughs and the vision that realized them.”
Dolores Bernardo
Leadership Development
AirBnb
“Many coaches help people climb mountains. David does more. He has helped me turn mountains into a simple trail. Part of his secret sauce is showing you how to redefine your own perspective in a more clear and meaningful way, with reassurance that what you want can indeed be accomplished and that the journey can be enjoyable”
David Navama
Co-Founder and President
Spins Ventures LLC
“David has a masterful way of telling a story while conveying real insight into the journey successful leaders take in order to accomplish their desired goals. His talks are engaging in a way that is deep and meaningful. He draws out your inner strengths and passions.”
Ivan Lapchinski
Regional Controller
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
“My day-to-day focus is on forming partnerships in support of LinkedIn’s mission of connecting the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. Listening to David walk me through the essence and philosophy of ‘First Principle,’ ‘Business Agility,’ and ‘Rediscovering Purpose’ was mind-opening, and shifted my professional perspective in a deep and meaningful way.”
Daniel Blanaru
Director of Business Development
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
“David is an extraordinary coach and public speaker, though I think of him more as a “detangler.” He has an ability to listen intently, absorb the context of the conversation, then ask incisive questions which provoke new thoughts and feelings. Those who participate in one of his events or a one on one coaching session can discover answers hidden outside of their own awarenesses”
Matt Haonver
Artist and Entertainment Executive
“David has an ability to speak from an intelligence and gritty experience of having created successful organizations, alongside an ability to truly listen from a glorious sense of ‘I don’t know.’ The two are not only unusual side-by-side but highly valuable, and an important element in a recent giant step for my work in the world.“
Nik Askew
SOULBIOGRAPHIES.com