David Ricciardi is a Titanium member and the Founder & CEO of Proximo. His experience spans 30 years and has led him to build, manage, and utilize large databases across various industries including finance, automotive, pharma and healthcare. David founded Proximo, an information services company, in 1997, to help clients with data strategy and governance, data warehousing and integration, and predictive analytics and business intelligence. He spends much of his time now as an advisor to clients, helping them to plan and execute on strategies that allow them to leverage data to make better business decisions.

The Professional

You’re a leader in your industry now, but did you always know this is what you wanted to do?

Well, actually, yes. I've been into technology since about 1980 (yes, I was a kid back then). I didn't see myself running a company and perhaps didn't aspire to leadership back then, but I'm in the field I was meant to be in.

How does the reality of your work compare with what you thought it would be?

What I do now, versus where I started, is a lot different. I've done data and technology for a long time, but now my work doesn't focus on that. It focuses on vision, leading people, interacting with others and listening, and mentorship. The skills I have today are very different from the ones I started my career with.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?

Whatever you know now isn't enough. There's always more to learn, to learn it from whoever and wherever you can.

What does success mean for you and your line of work?

If I can keep our whole team busy and gainfully employed, then I'm making a difference in my own corner of the world. People have jobs and can support their families and the next generation of talent. If I do that, I'm successful. To give our team the opportunity to work means also supporting them to engage and deliver for our clients. In the end, it all comes down to clients that are happy and who want to continue to use Proximo.

How do you bring your work to life to make this happen?

I focus on the people. What can be done to let them be successful? To grow and to become leaders, managers, and influencers in their own rights?

What is a common myth about your job or field of expertise?

That it's all about technology. In reality, technology is the easy part. The changes that new technology have on people and process are what need more attention than they often get.

I know that no two days are alike, but if you had to sum it up, what does a typical day in the life of David Ricciardi look like?

Ha! To say no two days are the same is an understatement. But in summary a day in the life of David is about communication. Who I am listening to right now, and how can I share my experience to solve something for them? That's what drives me and is why people want to talk to me.

We’re always looking for new trends? What new industry trends are you keeping up with and which ones do you wish would go away?

In data and analytics, the trend is AI and machine learning. It evolves all the time and is making a difference in terms of what we can do with data to drive business decisions.

What should go away? The hype about AI and machine learning. It's a great tool. But it doesn't do everything today, and like I said earlier, it's impact won't be what it can be until we pay sufficient attention to the way people and process are impacted by its adoption.

The Partnership

What three words would you use to describe Titanium?

Collaboration - it’s built into our model. Different companies comes together to work seamlessly as one.
Opportunity - Titanium affords Proximo the ability to engage with brands and on projects that we otherwise might not, because we alone don’t have the breadth of offerings needed.
Innovation - we can deliver things for clients we couldn’t on our own, or at least without doing all of the work Titanium has for us already!

What do you value most about being a member of Titanium?

Collaboration, business, and innovation!

Titanium is the first collective agency of its kind. In your own opinion, what’s the power of partnership?

We have the opportunity to do more than we otherwise can on our own. Proximo is a Founding Member, and we've had the privilege to work with (and learn) from fantastically talented people, and to do projects we never would have otherwise had access to.

The Person

What do you draw inspiration from?

All of the people I talk to every day, week, month and year. Everyone has something to offer, and most inspire me to do more.

What does diversity and inclusion mean to you?

It means engaging with, as partners, those we might not have otherwise met. This engagement let us create and do new things. It's about broadening our networks, because talented, smart people are out there, if we only dare to look for them.

What three books would you recommend?

Predictable Success - a great book that is an easy read. It explains the life cycle of all businesses from birth to death and where the ideal state of “predictable success” lies and how to stay there. I read it and saw all of our decades in business right there on the pages.
How Clients Buy - a great book that speaks to how clients buy, especially services like we offer. It’s not only educational but actionable.
The Lord of the Rings - OK, so not a business book. But I love works like this, because they implicitly open your mind to new vistas of things that could be, to creativity, to richness and depth of thought…if we indulge these parts of our brains, it can positively impact what our minds can conceive of in real life. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”

What quotes or words do you live by?

Don't sweat the small stuff - and most things are small stuff.

Do you have any final words of wisdom?

Just remember you can't do or know it all.

Titanium Member Spotlight: David Ricciardi, Founder & CEO of Proximo