Thursday Thought Leaders -- David Salyers

David Salyers was one of the original two marketing executives at Chick-fil-A, where he spent 37 years in the Marketing Department helping shape the company’s brand and growth—including the iconic Cow Campaign. Most recently serving as Vice President of Marketing, Growth & Hospitality, David started at Chick-fil-A just four hours after college graduation. His first office was a mobile home attached to an airfreight warehouse in Hapeville, Georgia, giving him a front-row seat as the company grew from humble beginnings into a multibillion-dollar organization with 3,300+ locations across the U.S. and beyond.

Throughout his career, David saw how servant leadership and generosity can power both culture and performance. Today he channels that experience to advise leaders and teams, helping them build remarkable brands and cultures that create competitive advantage. He captured many of these principles in his book Remarkable!, co-authored with Dr. Randy Ross, which debuted as the #1 Business Management book on Amazon (Feb 16, 2016).

A committed supporter of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, David serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council (current Chairman), is a five-time Bulldog 100 award recipient, received the Terry College Distinguished Alumni Award (2017), and was appointed the inaugural Startup Mentor Executive-in-Residence (2019).

Boards & Ventures (select):
SouthState Bank (NYSE: SSB) — Board Member; ROAM — Founding Partner & Board Member; Sequel Coffee — Founding Partner; ADDO Worldwide — Partner & Board Member; The HUB — Partner & Board Member; BaseLedger — Founding Partner & Board Member; Champion Tribes — Co-founder; Remarkable Movement LLC — Co-founder; fab’rik — Board of Directors.

Education:
University of Georgia, Terry College of Business (B.B.A.)
Studies at Wake Forest University and the Universidad de Madrid

David’s mission is simple: help organizations become more defined by meaning than money—achieving success and redefining it in the process.