Dave Burlington

Bio

Dave is responsible for the Financial Solutions Cloud Practice at Armanino. He has extensive software industry experience, with particular expertise in building and scaling high growth technology companies. Before joining Armanino in 2014, he led all aspects of enterprise SaaS and mobile application product teams. He was a key member of the leadership teams that took two software companies public: Epocrates, where he was COO and led product strategy and development, and Taleo, where he led the company’s transformation from a single-product business to the market leader in SaaS talent management solutions.

He also spent several years at Comergent Technologies, where he led product development, and PeopleSoft, where he oversaw business intelligence software products. Prior to that, he worked in business development and consulting. Dave has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from Santa Clara University.

Q&A

Taking quick, short steps get you where you need to be more reliably and effectively than long jumps. Long jumps can end up costing you time and money, but when you take short steps, you have the opportunity to evaluate your effectiveness and course correct more easily.

We will very soon reach a point where the majority of any given company’s software will be run in the cloud. This means that they can focus on the things that really differentiate them as a business, not buying servers and maintaining software. It ends up saving companies time and money in the long run and allows them to focus on the things that add value for their customers and stakeholders.

There’s a tremendous sense of family and loyalty here, both within the firm and with clients.

I tend to be a little more intense and aggressive than many people. I’m very Type A, very focused. I focus in on something and I don’t give up until it’s done, no matter what it takes. I tend to use humor a lot and find it helps to balance my intensity.

My father – because he taught me how to be a gentleman. For him that meant carrying oneself with honor and treating people with genuine respect and dignity, something I never want to see vanish from our culture. My father has always been an anchoring beacon for me and I often find myself asking what dad would do in any given situation. It's something that has served me very well over the years and I have found that outcomes are always better if you remain true to your core values.

Stay focused on the positive outcome you’re trying to achieve, especially during the down days.