I am a commercial growth executive with 10+ years leading transformations at Fortune 500's. I primarily focus on pricing, Sales and Revenue Ops & BU turnarounds.

+ Currently I lead a Pricing Operations & Transformation team of ~50 at FIS and am accountable for centralizing over 400 solutions under a single pricing organization to realize over $70M in benefit

+ Previously I served as the Head of Commercial Transformation, accountable for a Sales and Revenue turnaround that has driven over $100M+ in growth since '22

+ Prior I served as a General Manager at FIS, launching two new Embedded Finance Products to over 750 banks and 800,000 SMBs

+ I have consistently earned Top 10% Performance Ratings as both Sr Director and VP roles at FIS

+ Prior to FIS I drove revenue growth and go-to-market projects in Tech & Financial Services @ McKinsey, standing up a new Retail Data-as-a-Service Division in France and launching Real Time Payments in the US

Beyond FIS, I pursue a variety of part-time entrepreneurial and social impact opportunities:

+ Founded an AI-based Lead Generation company for LinkedIn, FasterLeads.AI

+ Founded DineroHispano.com, a Hispanic SMB Consultancy, holding over 1,200 COVID survival trainings

I am multilingual (English, Spanish, French), bi-cultural, and have worked on four continents (8 countries).

I'm obsessed with family, mental & physical peak performance, and getting 1% better every day.

David Sardi

I coach creators with <2.5k followers how to be LinkedIn pros in <45 days | 264k Impressions & 23k Engagements in L12 mos. | The Real You Podcast Host | Enneagram 6 | Runner, Triathlete, Obstacle Course Racer

I was the quiet kid in the back of the classroom.

I never wanted to be called on.

Never wanted to read out loud.

And I definitely didn’t want to give a presentation.

So when I was 14, in 9th grade, and had to give a speech in front of my entire grade and their parents,

I delivered one of the worst speeches in the history of civilization. No exaggeration. It was, memorable. For the wrong reasons.

That moment stuck with me.

I struggled with being visible, using my voice, and public speaking well into my mid-30s.

I learned how to stay competent. Helpful. Fine. And mostly invisible.

By the time I hit 40, something shifted. I felt called toward something more. Something different.

- I wanted to speak.
- I wanted to start a podcast.
- I wanted to help others who felt the same quiet pull.

But I didn’t know how.


So instead of moving forward, I did what a lot of capable mid-life professionals do, I stayed stuck. And fearful.

For another eight years. Fear didn’t stop me loudly. It stopped me efficiently.

That finally changed in the summer of 2023, when I started posting on LinkedIn.

At first, it was small:

- content
- selfies 
- stories from my past

And something unexpected happened.

People responded. They resonated. They recognized themselves.

That was the beginning of a real transformation.

Since then, I’ve launched three podcasts, a YouTube channel, and developed my keynote, The Fear That Formed Me: a funny, honest talk about fear, visibility, and the self-imposed rules that quietly shape our lives.

I don’t talk about eliminating fear. I talk about what happens when you stop letting it decide.

Today, my work is about helping mid-life professionals do what they’ve been avoiding, not through hype, self-help clichés, or forced journaling, but through clarity, humor, and the relief of realizing they’re not broken.

If you’ve been feeling that quiet nudge toward something you keep putting off, you’re not alone.

And you’re probably closer than you think.


➜ Listen to my podcast here, https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

➜ Book me to speak at: david@davidjyoung.me

David Young, MBA

The first career coach I hired in 2007 didn’t say hello.
 
He didn’t welcome me to his office.
 
He didn’t ask about my goals.
 
He looked at me and said:
 
“When you leave here today, call your boss and tell him you quit.”
 
I laughed.
 
“What?”
 
I’d been in sales for several years at that point.
 
He had just reviewed my assessments. One of them showed a 2% match to the sales profile.
 
He said:
 
“You are not a salesperson. And you never will be. It’s not in your wiring.”

 
Then he said something that stuck with me:
 
“The problem for people like you is that you’re just good enough not to get fired or quit, but not wired to excel.”
 

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲.
 

If I had been terrible, I would’ve left sooner or been let go.
 
Instead, I stayed, FOR 7 YEARS.
 
That should’ve been the lesson.
 
𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁.

 
Years later, I took a new role (a promotion), and I knew within 30 seconds that I had made a mistake.
 
I stayed 18 months.
 

Many years after that, another misaligned role.
 
Knew on DAY 1 it wasn’t right.
 
Stayed 14 months.
 

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀:
 
• Figure it out.  
• It’s not that bad.  
• Don’t quit too soon.  
• Maybe it gets better.
• I can grind this out.
 

Endurance
Grit
Perseverance
Determination
 
Those are celebrated traits.
 
They’ve helped me in sports.  
In school.  
In life.


But pointed at the wrong thing?
 
They become a CAGE.

 
Disciplined people can survive misalignment for years.
 
And because you can survive it, you convince yourself it’s fine, not THAT bad.
 
Until it isn’t.
 
There’s no award for leaving early, but maybe there should be. Recognize it and move on without regret. 
 

Remember my caricature pointing and telling you, it's OKAY to get outta there!!

Observational humor about work, identity, and the things we all pretend are normal | 🎤 Keynote Speaker | Host of The Underlayer

Why do so many high achievers burn out?
 
And why do they sometimes chase goals they don’t even want?
 
In my latest episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿, Katarina Kiseli and I discuss the hidden psychology behind overachievement.

 
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁:
 
• Driven but drained  
• Successful but strangely unsatisfied  
• Productive but misaligned

 
This is for you.

 
𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁:
 
– How social media quietly reshapes your goals  
– The trap of the all-or-nothing mindset  
– Why external validation feels motivating, until it isn’t  
– How burnout often starts with a misaligned “why”
 

💡 And most importantly, how to reset.

 
Katarina is a former FBI analyst, psychologist, and coach who works with high-performing professionals navigating burnout, self-doubt, and identity shifts in midlife.
 
If you’re ambitious but starting to question your goals, this conversation might hit closer than you expect.
 

𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗧 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.


--> Please like, subscribe, and follow The Underlayer wherever you consume the show to help more people find it.

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