Redirecting.work
David Fineman:
Still Pivoting, Still Contributing
David Fineman doesn’t describe his career as a straight line but as a series of pivots. Over the decades he’s moved from finance to consulting, into internal leadership, into teaching, and now from practitioner to vendor. What ties those moves together is a consistent desire to keep learning, stretching, and making an impact.
What Drove His Latest Pivot
For much of his early career, David worked in large-scale organizational change. With an MBA and finance background, he developed a process-oriented, business-first way of thinking that stayed with him throughout his career. He spent years in consulting, including
at Deloitte and CSC Index, and later brought that perspective into HR. He didn’t come up through traditional HR channels. He entered the space carrying the lenses of finance, strategy, and transformation
That perspective remained consistent even when the setting changed. He moved between consulting and in-house roles, always applying the same core strengths in different contexts – a classic pivoter. At PTC, he approached the work much as he would a consulting project, except this time he was living with the consequences internally rather than handing recommendations to someone else.
This latest pivot, from practitioner to vendor, wasn’t as out of character as it might first appear. It was another extension of a long-standing pattern: learn something deeply, then find a new place to apply and extend it.
Still, there were drivers behind the change from PTC to Revelio Labs. While David enjoyed the work and his team at PTC, leadership changes and shifting priorities, in part, drove his most recent shift. He frames this shift as positive. He wants to enjoy his work, keep challenging himself, and continue contributing.
Current Direction
David’s role at Revelio Labs sits at the intersection of sales, consulting, product thinking, and strategy, a mix that suits him well. He’s part of the sales team, but he doesn’t see the work as transactional selling. He sees it as understanding client use cases and connecting Revelio’s data and services to real business decisions.
That fit didn’t happen by accident. David had met Revelio founder Ben Zweig several years earlier and had followed the company with interest. He was impressed not only by Ben but by the broader team, including chief economist Lisa Simon. He also knew the labor market intelligence space from the client side. As a practitioner, he’d used other external labor market data providers, so he understood both the promise of the category and the limitations of existing offerings. Revelio struck him as deeper, more ambitious, and better aligned with where the market was going.
The company’s size also appealed to him. With fewer than one hundred employees, Revelio offered room to contribute broadly and help build something. David especially values that he could hit the ground running. Because he’d been a practitioner and user of this kind of data, he brought immediate empathy to the role. He understands what clients are trying to solve because he’s been in their seat. That makes him more credible. He’s not selling abstract features. He’s helping clients think through workforce strategy, location choices, skills, organization structure, and talent intelligence using data that offers strategic advantage.
He also liked the cultural fit. The decision was part of a broader personal calculus that included family support, good health, timing, and the chance to work with smart people on something meaningful.
Advice for Others
David’s advice stems from his mindset.
Be ready. Readiness isn’t just about skills. It’s about having the energy, health, and desire to step into something new.
Look holistically. A pivot isn’t only about title or compensation. It’s about the whole opportunity: the culture, the people, the fit with your values, and whether the role lets you contribute in ways that matter.
Pursue change with purpose. David didn’t want change for its own sake. He wanted a place where he could have impact, help grow a younger organization, and keep extending himself.
For David, the move to Revelio is another purposeful pivot. He’s still learning, still stretching, and still proving that experience, energy, and curiosity can open new doors long after many assume the pivoting should stop.