Spark Your Culture

Meet Dave Sparkman

Dave Sparkman is the founder of SPARK Your Culture, a workplace culture advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations flourish through healthy, high-performing cultures.

For nine years, Dave served as the SVP of Culture at UnitedHealth Group, where he helped lead a historic transformation for a Fortune 5 company. A retreaded CPA and former partner at Arthur Andersen, Dave brings a unique blend of financial discipline and human-first leadership to his work.

Beyond the corporate world, he serves as Executive Director of Crossroads Career, a nonprofit helping people in seasons of transition find purpose in their work. It reflects his belief that transformed character is the true engine of a transformed culture.

Dave's Story

Dave began his career at Arthur Andersen, one of the most prestigious firms in the world. In 2002, it collapsed. Not because of bad numbers. Because of a broken culture. Dave watched it happen from the inside, and it changed how he thinks about organizations and leadership.

That experience led him to UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 5, where he spent nine years leading culture at scale. What he inherited was a culture that was holding the organization back. What he helped build was something entirely different, and the results proved it.

During his tenure:

Employee engagement increased from 72% to 82%
(across 140,000 to 300,000 employees)

Revenue, earnings per share, headcount, and stock price all improved

That is not a coincidence. That is what happens when culture is led with intention.

His Approach

Dave does not approach culture as an academic exercise. He does not show up with a framework, deliver a presentation, and leave you to figure out the rest.

He gets in the room, asks the hard questions, and stays in it long enough to make sure something actually changes. In his words, he brings a shovel, not a clipboard.

He is a certified culture facilitator through Senn Delaney and holds a Trust Edge certification. But his strongest credential is decades of doing this work inside leadership teams, with real stakes and real accountability.

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Meet Dave Sparkman

Dave's Story

His Approach

Beyond the Boardroom

I don't approach culture from the outside with a clipboard. I bring a shovel and get in the trenches. Because that's the only way anything actually changes.

Work with someone who's done this before.

Dave's new book is available May 26, 2026: YOUR CHARACTER IS YOUR CULTURE

Meet Dave Sparkman

Dave's Story

His Approach

Beyond the Boardroom

I don't approach culture from the outside with a clipboard. I bring a shovel and get in the trenches. Because that's the only way anything actually changes.

Work with someone who's done this before.

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