The Off-Piste Philosophy

Standard playbooks produce standard results. This is a different approach.

Dave Spooner paragliding over the British countryside
20+
years in tech
and leadership
About Me

Real-world experience.
No fluff.

I'm Dave Spooner - an executive coach, leadership mentor, rock climber, and paraglider based in Bristol. Over two decades I've built and scaled engineering teams, led digital transformations across four continents, and helped organisations ship products that millions of people use every day.

I've helped both individuals and 100+ person teams - working with everyone from mad inventors shooting lasers at cows, to building government payment systems. But some of my most rewarding work has been outside the corporate world - coaching a brewery owner, helping an artist turn her lino printing studio into a thriving full-time business, and guiding a marketing consultancy into the lifestyle business its founder always dreamed of.

I coach from experience, not a textbook. When I challenge you, it's because I've been there myself, and I know hard decisions need to be made. That's what going off-piste looks like - leaving the marked runs behind and finding the route that's actually right for you.

I work with clients across the UK and internationally, offering executive coaching and leadership mentoring that's grounded in real commercial experience - not frameworks borrowed from a textbook.

Facilitated tech leadership workshops at Just Eat - one of the world's largest food delivery platforms, serving 98 million customers across 20+ countries
Key enabler to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Mojaloop project - open-source payment infrastructure built to reach 2 billion unbanked people globally
Built and led teams across multiple self-funded and VC-backed startups - from early-stage to structured scale and exit
Advocate for AI tools, automation & smart systems as practical business levers - not just for tech companies
Rock climbing coach, paraglider, outdoor adventure enthusiast
Off-Piste Philosophy

Autonomy, trust, and
getting out of the way.

After twenty years in technology and leadership, I've seen one pattern repeat itself across every successful team and organisation: when people feel trusted, they do their best work. The leader's job is to create the conditions - not to micromanage the output. That's not the standard playbook. But standard playbooks produce standard results.

"The best businesses I've seen don't have founders running themselves into the ground. They're run by a leader surrounded by great people, with the right culture, working towards a shared goal."

I also believe that a thriving business and a thriving life aren't opposites - they're complementary. My years of rock climbing, paragliding, and time in the mountains have taught me as much about leadership, risk, and focus as any boardroom ever could. I bring that whole-person perspective to every coaching relationship.

I embrace the pragmatic application of frameworks, systems, and assessments; philosophy without implementation is just talk. OKRs and similar goal-setting frameworks can surface priorities, personality tests can understand how your team actually ticks, communication models build psychological safety, and smart processes remove friction. These aren't buzzwords; they're practical levers that help translate trust and autonomy into real results.

Trust First

Build psychological safety. People do extraordinary things when they're not afraid to fail.

Right People, Right Seats

Hiring and structuring well compounds over time. Getting this wrong compounds even faster.

Work On, Not In

Build a business that runs without you - through the right people, smart processes, and the right technology. Automation isn't just for tech companies.

Life Beyond Work

Sustainable success requires rest, adventure, passions, and identity beyond your career. Non-negotiable.

Ready to get started?

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. No pressure, no pitch - just an honest conversation.

Book a Free Discovery Call