Sandra Davis, Ph.D., L.P. 

Chief Executive Officer

Sandra Davis is a courageous executive who knows how to influence powerful leaders. She is charming, persuasive, and savvy in the time-tested business practices of talent management, leadership development, and organizational change consulting. As the founder of the firm, she has built a culture based on real-world experience, client intimacy, and customized solutions for leaders who demand results.

Sandra’s success as an entrepreneur helps her identify with risk-taking leaders. After earning the role of vice president in the assessment services area of PDI, she, along with a partner, started MDA Leadership Consulting in 1981 and hasn’t looked back since. As CEO of the firm, she is widely known and respected as an executive coach and thought leader in the industry. Her client list spanning the past 23 years reads like the “who’s who” of top corporations headquartered in the Midwest and beyond. Her client work today involves strategic succession planning, CEO selection, senior executive talent evaluation, corporate and non-profit board selection and development, and senior executive coaching.

In 2004, Sandra was selected as a “Women Change Maker” by The Business Journal. Other accomplishments include co-writing the book Reinventing Yourself: Life Planning After 50. She is an internationally known expert in the use of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). She earned her B.S. from Iowa State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, working at the latter as a member of the faculty for four years. She also applies her leadership talents in the community. She currently serves on the boards of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Jeremiah Program, and the Iowa State University Foundation. Sandra is also a part of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable.

Away from the office, Sandra is adventurous and musical. She enjoys skiing and hiking in Aspen, Colorado, bicycling, and exploring faraway lands, including Vietnam and India. She is a classical pianist and is particularly fond of Brahms. In her earlier years, she sang a sultry female lead in musical theater productions and dance bands. She’s working on mastering her golf game at the world-famous Interlachen Country Club in Edina and learning Chinese. Her most recent challenge and a new ‘first’ was joining the Prouty Project’s Stretch Expedition and running the Paris Marathon in March of 2005.

You can contact Sandra at +1-612-259-4235 or sdavis@mdaleadership.com.