I’m a dad and husband, a photographer and writer and sketcher and a B2B marketer.
I started my career in 1989 as a reporter and photographer for The Chapel Hill News in Chapel Hill, N.C. Since then I’ve worked in marketing and marketing communications for tech companies, including Nortel, SAS, Radian6, Salesforce, Leadspace, IBM and Splunk. At Salesforce, I built an industry-leading social media and content team that drove more than $150M in pipeline in 2014.
I studied photography with Merry Moor Winnett at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. When I wrote for The Chapel Hill News, originally as a stringer, I got an extra ten bucks if I included a photo with my story. I’ve since taken workshops in San Francisco with Eric Kim.
I’ve always loved to draw. In 2017, I started sketching with ink and watercolor. Photography has been my primary creative outlet for many years, but I wanted to do something new, more tactile and that used other parts of my brain. I’m inspired by urban sketchers and the way they document their daily lives in their art. I like the way sketching forces me to slow down and look around me, which in many ways is the opposite of my photography style. But just like my photography, I am primarily drawn to people and faces.
I wrote a book in 2011 with Mike Barlow called The Executive’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy. You can buy it, if you’re looking for an old social media book. Most of it’s still true though, because I interviewed smart people about the ways they use social media in big companies. My late father reviewed it on Amazon using a different name, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that us social media folks don’t do that.
photo of me by Joe Aguirre
Speaking and Interviews
I enjoy speaking to groups large and small about the value of content marketing and social media, as well as the challenges. I’m also happy to discuss B2B marketing topics. As a former journalist, I won’t waste your time.
I used to keep a list here of all my speaking engagements and interviews, but it got tedious. I’ve spoken at quite a few events, including MarketingProfs B2B Summit, SocialFresh, Blogworld, Social Brand Forum and Dreamforce.
Testimonials
“We’ve had Dave speak at several MarketingProfs events, and you definitely should not hire this guy. Go look somewhere else, please, far away from Dave Thomas. We need to keep the wisdom, warmth, humility and humor he projects from the stage all to ourselves.”
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
“David was an amazing discovery for us at Ragan Communications. We host events throughout the world, so we’re always on the lookout for great speakers. David fits that bill. He is funny, intelligent, informative and compelling.”
Mark Ragan, CEO, Ragan Communications
“The perfect mix of humor, information and insights!”
LaSandra Brill, Senior Manager, Global Social Media, Cisco
Q: “Would you recommend this session to a colleague at a future conference?”
A: YES “100%”
participant survey results from MarketingProfs seminar