Partner
David Ferrante
The year after the deal closes
David was the finance chief who had to make two acquisitions actually work — the second one twice the size of the first, and considerably less friendly. He has sat in the room where two commercial teams are told they are now one team, and he has watched what happens next.
He coaches leaders through integration, restructuring and the particular loneliness of being the person who has to hold a line that is not popular.
David joined Wolcott in 2016 and keeps his CPA licence inactive on principle: he says a coach who is still doing the technical job cannot resist doing it for you.
Blunt, numerate, and quietly funny. Good with leaders who are tired of being handled.
What David is most often asked for
- We are integrating after an acquisition
- Feedback landed badly and I need to move
- I have to hold a room of directors
- I have just stepped up a level
Sectors David has worked inside
Manufacturing & industrial · Financial services · Logistics & distribution · Consumer & CPG
Written by David
Case dossier
- Two commercial teams, one leader, eleven months — A $2.1bn specialty distributor
How David works
Blunt, numerate, and quietly funny. Good with leaders who are tired of being handled.
Typical shape
Nine months, eighteen sessions, a twelve-interview Stakeholder Read and two sponsor reviews.
Where you would meet
The North Loop rooms, on video, or a mix — about half of David’s engagements run entirely remotely.
Before you commit
A free thirty-minute chemistry call, without your sponsor. Use it to disagree with David and see what happens.
The rest of the roster
You will meet up to three of them before anything is signed. Chemistry is real, and it is not a euphemism for liking someone.
ICF MCC
Marguerite Okonjo-Fell
Founding partner & head of coaching
Before coachingSVP Operations, an 11,000-staff Midwest health system
ICF PCC
Priya Raghunathan
Senior coach · lead, team practice
Before coachingVP Engineering at a logistics software company (140 engineers)
ICF PCC
Coleman Wright
Senior coach
Before coachingGeneral Manager, consumer packaged goods — fourteen years of P&L
ICF PCC
Sofía Delgado-Reyes
Coach
Before coachingChief People Officer, a 4,000-room hospitality group
Chemistry call
Meet David, and two others
Thirty minutes each, free, with no sponsor in the room. Use the call to find out how this person handles the moment you disagree with them.