About
What People Say About Me
Across my career, feedback from my leaders, team members, and partners consistently highlights a blend of compassionate, people-first leadership with deep technical expertise and strategic execution. My focus is always on accelerating organizational growth while empowering the people I work with.
💡 The Transformative Leader & Strategic Partner
My direct leaders and cross-functional partners emphasize my ability to set a clear, visionary strategy, master new domains quickly, and deliver complex technical transformations that accelerate business outcomes.
From My Direct Leaders
Josh Zook Chief Technology Officer - Rocket Mortgage
“I had the privilege of working directly with David for over 10 years… he continually impressed me with his ability to not only take on new domains but quickly master them. David does this through a rare combination of deep business curiosity and strong technical acumen – qualities that make him a standout senior leader. David also knows how to strike the right balance of process and flexibility, scaling teams in ways that deliver results. David excels in any environment where success depends on thriving in ambiguity, learning fast, and leading confidently through change.”
David Polidori Senior Vice President, Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“I worked closely with David during his tenure at Rocket, and the results he delivered were nothing short of transformative. David seamlessly bridges strategic vision with hands-on execution, making him an ideal technical leader for any growth-oriented organization… Rocket’s implementation of Sitecore accelerated our time to market for launching new sites by orders of magnitude… He built architecture, best practices, and processes that scaled as our business grew.”
From Partners
Jasen Sams Vice President of Rocket Innovation Studios
“David’s leadership is client centric and rooted in strong product ownership – he can rally a diverse group of stakeholders, inspire them around a shared mission, and see an idea through to production and beyond. His integrity and care make him a trusted partner.”
Abigail Sullivan Director, CRM & Lifecycle Marketing - Rocket Mortgage
“David is a fantastic leader who is excellent at articulating business needs and consumer pain points to bring teams together for problem solving and ideation. David has extensive knowledge and experience with CDP and other martech systems to deliver growth at scale!”
Scott Bragg Experience Director - Quicken Loans
“As the Tech leader of the project, David was simultaneously acting as a strategic partner in the decision-making process as well as leading a team of engineers… David is a model of focus: driving results, hitting goals on time and delivering projects at a high quality.”
🧭 The Leader of Leaders (My Direct Reports)
This feedback comes from the managers and directors who reported directly to me, focusing on my ability to mentor and manage other leaders, drive strategic alignment, and foster a high-performing culture.
Yashita Reddy Director of Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“As a leader, David consistently demonstrated a unique blend of strategic insight and empathy. This supportive approach helped foster a culture of trust and accountability, which ultimately led to the successful completion of key projects and exceeded performance targets.”
Huda Anwar Director of Data Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“I had the privilege of working directly with David over the past few years, and I can confidently say he is one of the most compassionate and visionary leaders I’ve encountered. David leads with empathy and clarity, consistently driving strategic initiatives that elevate both people and performance.”
David Gullo Senior Team Leader, Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“As a leader, David blends active engagement, mutual accountability, and cultural alignment with a keen ability to bring out the best in the people around him… His understanding of team dynamics and individual strengths give him the ability to place people in roles that challenge and engage their expertise.”
Carter Wickstrom Team Leader, Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“David was an excellent mentor for a first-time frontline manager. His thoughtful and respectful approach to leadership allowed us to find the right level of process for our teams while still providing consistency, sound judgement, and helpful feedback and advice across all of his teams.”
👥 The People-First Mentor & Team Builder (My Team Members)
These quotes come from the engineers and team members who reported indirectly to me, highlighting my impact on their growth, the technical environment, and the team culture I helped establish.
Jasen Sams Vice President of Rocket Innovation Studios
“I first met David over 13 years ago when I joined Rocket as an intern. From day one, he took me under his wing and taught me everything from mortgage fundamentals to the role of a Business Analyst, the SDLC and the way technology, sales and marketing interact. His mentorship shaped my early career and set me on the path I’m on today.”
Janina Phillips Staff UX Engineer - Rocket Mortgage
“He stands out as one of the most impactful leaders and mentors I’ve ever worked with. His combination of deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and people-first leadership is rare… He’s helped not only me, but so many others, grow in our careers.”
Anil Kumar Ghatamaneni Staff Software Engineer, Salesforce - Rocket Mortgage
“David is a standout leader, distinguished by his ability to develop and execute a clear strategic plan. He seamlessly integrates his deep knowledge of client experience, banking, and diverse marketing strategies to drive results. Beyond his strategic vision, David excels as an effective communicator and a patient mentor.”
Matt Mastej Software Engineer II - Rocket Mortgage
“What sets David apart is not just his technical knowledge but also his leadership and mentorship. He is incredibly approachable, his door was always open, and he consistently created a welcoming environment.”
🚀 Expertise in Execution & Complex Problem Solving
Across all groups, I am recognized for applying a rare depth of technical knowledge to solve complex organizational problems, often involving large-scale platform or data transformation.
Jeff Sutherland Inventor and Co-Creator of Scrum, Signatory of the Agile Manifesto
“David is one of the few managers in the industry able to transform an entire organization within a year and achieve dramatic results.”
David Polidori Senior Vice President, Engineering - Rocket Mortgage
“What sets David apart is his combination of: Technical leadership — not just knowing the stack but pushing boundaries… Execution excellence — driving cross-functional teams to deliver complex initiatives on time, with clarity and accountability.”
Jasen Sams Vice President of Rocket Innovation Studios
“He has specialized in SDLC and CI/CD methodologies and used that expertise to build systems that our teams rely on daily. His vision helped establish the foundation for our data strategy.”
Abhishek Singh Senior Solutions Architect - Rocket Mortgage
“Equally transformative was David’s work in bringing together and consolidating the Digital Analytics platform while introducing the first-ever Consumer Data Platform at Rocket… By championing a headless architecture, he laid the groundwork for long-term scalability.”
Chris Raheb Senior Software Engineer II - Rocket Mortgage
“David is a strong leader. As an engineer working with him, I found that he always had a strong understanding of how things worked on both the product and engineering sides. He was excellent at resolving any engineering blocks we encountered.”
Outside of Work
Life isn’t just about code and strategy. I love rock climbing, hunting, fishing, camping, and pretty much all things outdoors. I play guitar and the ukulele whenever I can and even won the Quicken Loans Making The Band contest back in 2014.
I somehow convinced my beautiful wife Alicia to marry me in 2010, and together we have two awesome girls, Sophia and Emma.
