Dave Sackman

Dave joined LRW, now Material, more than 30 years ago and now serves as the company’s Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. During his tenure as the company’s former CEO, Dave’s leadership helped Material grow from a $5MM local market research provider into an internationally renowned customer insights and strategy consultancy in more than 40 different countries. In 2015, Dave led a growth capital funding round from Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm focused on high-growth middle market companies. Material today is a function of Dave’s vision and inspiration for a company that embeds deep human understanding into the core of how business should operate and create value.

In 2015, Dave also delivered a TEDx talk in London on creating real change through virtual reality and was named a Tech Visionary by SURVEY Magazine’s Technology Trendsetters for his work with AppliedVR®, the leading medical virtual reality company working to help solve America’s opioid crisis. Notably, Applied VR is the first virtual reality therapeutic that has received FDA approval. In addition to Applied VR where Dave serves as Chairman, he advises emerging entrepreneurs at USC’s Marshall School of Business, plays an advisory role to the UCLA Dean of Social Sciences, and is an active member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Dave is an avid tennis player and lives in Los Angeles with his wife. He has been married nearly 40 years and adores his three adult children, their spouses, and his five young grandchildren.