David Sable is Vice Chairman of Stagwell. He is a sought-after speaker, a published children’s author, and one of the most widely read business voices on LinkedIn. 

Previously, as Global CEO and Chairman of Y&R, David led the agency to become a top-five global creative network, expanded VML’s worldwide footprint, and helped unify Y&R and VML into VMLY&R. He built new practices in healthcare and B2B and launched The Spark Plug, the agency’s in-house innovation accelerator. 

His career began at Y&R as a trainee in 1976 and has included an early stint at Wells, Rich and Greene, co-founding Israeli tech agency Mimsar and early digital retailer Genesis Direct, serving as a combat medic in the IDF, and leadership roles at Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe and Wunderman, where he helped build the firm into a digital and data powerhouse. He has led business for Microsoft, Dell, IBM, AT&T, Citi, Kraft, Pfizer, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, and other global brands. 

David is a former Chairman of the Ad Council, a longtime Director-at-Large of the 4As, and a three-time Cannes Lions Jury President. He serves on the executive boards of Special Olympics International and the UNCF, and on the public company boards of American Eagle Outfitters and Ethan Allen. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Council of University of the People and the board of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC). Fast Company named him one of its “10 Most Generous Marketing Geniuses,” and he served as an executive producer of MTV’s acclaimed Rebel Music. 

Today, David advises business leaders and start-ups, and mentors rising talent across the industry. He and his wife, Debbie, have two daughters and five grandchildren.