David Pettrone Swalve

Personal Details

Bio

Leadership Strategist | Author, Pirate Jokes Aren't Funny | Founder, Authentara™

David Pettrone Swalve teaches executive teams and HR leaders how to quantify the hidden cost of performative leadership—and replace it with measurable, behavior-driven authenticity that improves trust, execution, and business performance.

Trained at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and shaped by Fortune 500 executive experience, David architected the Authentara Blueprint™—an eight-component framework that turns authenticity from a personality trait into an operating system leaders can execute. His work addresses the Quantum Workforce Era: the current business reality defined by demographic plurality, credibility crisis, AI acceleration, and transparency that exposes performative leadership faster than ever.

Author of Pirate Jokes Aren't Funny: A Powerful Blueprint for Authentic Leadership in a World Built for Sameness (Amplify Publishing, February 2026)—a challenge to corporate conformity and a practical roadmap for leaders navigating today's high-stakes, high-transparency environment.

David's keynotes and workshops combine neuroscience, behavioral economics, and CFO-ready metrics. Audiences leave with diagnostic tools, calculation frameworks, and Monday-morning leadership practices that work. No fluff. No theory. Just execution-ready systems.

Speaking clients and targets include: Corporate leadership summits, Fortune 500 executive retreats, and HR conferences (SHRM, Transform, UNLEASH). Sessions scale from 50-person C-suite gatherings to 1,000+ conference keynotes.

Background: MPA (Rutgers), international research fellowships in leadership and economic development across Europe and Africa, former SVP of Workforce Development.

David doesn't inspire leaders to "be authentic." He shows them how to operationalize authenticity at scale.

Connect: Authentara.com | 612-322-2896 | david@authentara.com

Current position (1)

Founder and Chief Strategist

Authentara

Achievements (4)

Leadership & Executive Impact

Built and led high-performance teams across Fortune 500, nonprofit, and global operational environments.

Designed leadership systems adopted by senior executives, department heads, and cross-functional teams to improve trust and execution.

Delivered culture transformation initiatives

Speaking & Thought Leadership

Keynote speaker for corporate leadership summits, HR conferences, and innovation forums across multiple industries.

Recognized for high-impact delivery, blending neuroscience, behavioral economics, and actionable tools.

Featured facilitator for executive retreats, teaching how to build trust

Authorship & Research

Author of Pirate Jokes Aren’t Funny: A Powerful Blueprint for Authentic Leadership in a World Built for Sameness (Amplify Publishing, 2026).

Contributor to research on authentic leadership, trust mechanics, and performative culture.

Advocate for measurable leadership behaviors

Client Results & Transformation Stories

Degrees (4)

Executive Leadership

Wharton - University of Pennsylvania

2022 to 2023

Public Policy

Rutgers

1998 to 2000

Political Science and Communication

Kansas University

1992 to 1994

Political Science

United States Military Academy - West Point

1988 to 1992

Presentations

Presentations (4)

The Hidden Cost of Fake Leadership: How to Quantify Performative Culture

Every company tracks turnover and engagement, but few measure the real price of performative leadership. In this session, David exposes the five hidden costs draining your organization—turnover, disengagement, lost productivity, innovation drag, and reputation erosion—and shows HR and finance teams how to quantify each one.
Participants walk away with a practical calculation framework that translates culture impact into CFO-ready language, proving that authenticity isn't soft—it's profitable.
Key Takeaways: Identify the five measurable costs of performative leadership; calculate dollar impact using existing metrics; build a business case finance will approve.
Ideal for: HR leaders, finance teams, and executives justifying culture investments.

From Masks to Metrics: How to Build High-Trust Leadership Teams

Leadership development too often rewards polish over presence—creating teams that look good on paper but struggle under pressure. David redefines leadership maturity through measurable authenticity, showing how to replace performative habits with trust-building behaviors that drive results.
Using the Authentara Blueprint™, participants translate values into daily practices that strengthen performance without bureaucracy.
Key Takeaways: Replace culture fit with trust-based behaviors; connect authenticity to performance metrics; identify masks costing credibility; build teams that perform under pressure.
Ideal for: Executive teams, leadership development pros, and culture leaders.

The Monday Morning Leadership Test: 5 Micro-Practices That Drive Engagement

Most leadership programs inspire for a day and disappear by Monday. David introduces the Monday Morning Leadership Test—five repeatable micro-practices proven to rebuild engagement fast. Through neuroscience, behavioral economics, and story-driven examples, he helps leaders turn insight into action that sticks.
Participants complete a diagnostic, design a 14-day practice loop tailored to their reality, and rehearse a difficult conversation most leaders avoid. You'll leave with a pocket playbook, ready-to-use templates, and the confidence to lead differently starting Monday morning.
Key Takeaways: Apply five measurable behaviors that strengthen trust; use neuroscience insights to sustain authentic habits; turn short-term inspiration into long-term change; get tools you'll actually use.
Ideal for: Managers, team leaders, and executives who need practical tools, not more theory.

Leading Hybrid Teams Without Losing Your Culture (or Your Mind)

Hybrid work isn't going away—but most leadership models still assume everyone's in the same room. In this session, David shows how performative leadership gets exposed faster in distributed teams, where trust can't hide behind proximity and "executive presence" doesn't translate over Zoom.
Participants learn how to adapt the Authentara Blueprint™ for hybrid environments, replacing physical presence with authentic connection. You'll discover which leadership behaviors scale across distance, how to spot performative culture in virtual settings, and practical rituals that build trust when teams are scattered.
Expect real talk about what actually works (and what's pure theater) in hybrid leadership, plus tools you can implement immediately.
Key Takeaways: Identify which leadership masks get amplified in hybrid work; build trust across distributed teams using authentic behaviors; create rituals that maintain culture without proximity. Ideal for: Executive teams, HR leaders, and managers