Don Dea

Serial Entrepreneur | Board Leader | Digital Transformation & Governance Expert I am a seasoned entrepreneur and strategic advisor with extensive experience in leadership, digital transformation, and governance across the private, non-profit, and government sectors. Over the past several decades, I have founded and co-founded multiple companies, including one currently going public. My career spans technology, AI, cybersecurity, mergers and acquisitions, and association leadership, with a strong focus on strategic partnerships. Currently, I serve on several boards, including private equity, chairing many of them, including one focused on Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships in Cybersecurity. I am the Board Chair Emeritus of Excelsior University and the Board Chair of America’s VetDogs & the GuideDog Foundation. I have overseen leadership and growth for more than 14 years. My governance experience extends across various sectors, from serving as Founder of the ASAE AAPI Advisory Group, which recruits and develops industry leaders, to roles on the boards of HIMSS Media, the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Salvation Army. In addition to my leadership roles, I have authored numerous ASAE Foundation publications on digital transformation, online education, and Internet strategy. My contributions to the association world earned me ASAE’s Academy of Leaders Award in 2021, and I was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives (FASAE). I co-founded Fusion Productions, where I co-produced digitalNow, an executive summit for association and non-profit leaders. My entrepreneurial ventures and senior executive roles in global technology and real estate—including at Xerox Corporation—have equipped me with a deep understanding of the intersection between leadership and technology, especially in navigating organizational growth during digital disruption. In addition to my business endeavors, I have served as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in the President’s Executive Exchange Program. I am a graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business with an MBA in Finance, and I have completed the Senior Executive Program at MIT Sloan School of Business. I mentor students at the Duke/Fuqua School of Business, McDaniel College, and High School students in entrepreneurship.