David Hager

Email: 
david.hager@markmaraia.com
Phone: 
(206) 855-9373

David Hager brings a "Swiss Army Knife" of tools and experience to  his professional and executive coaching practice.   He has been admitted to practice law for more than 30 years, and actively practiced much of that time.    He has also held  corporate positions leading the development of new business ventures and managing operations in Asia and beyond.   Most recently he has been serving major professional service and corporate clients as a leadership and professional development coach, trainer and consultant.

David is a 1978 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, and holds the dubious distinction of having once been simultaneously a member of the bar associations of New York, California, Michigan, and the State of Washington.  During the earlier period of his legal career, he co-founded a boutique law practice in New York City, working with high-profile clients in international corporate matters, complex litigation, and even a dash of white-collar crime experience.

He went on to take a position in Hong Kong as international corporate counsel responsible for legal and government affairs and government of a large foreign investment company operating between China, Japan, and the United States.

Beginning about fifteen years ago, he began a gradual career transition into the fields of professional and executive development.  He has worked as a professional and executive coach and leadership development trainer for global law, consulting and professional service firms since 1990, and is an adjunct faculty member for the US Department of Justice Leadership Institute.  

David has trained and coached several thousand attorneys, management consultants,  and other client-facing professionals, as well as senior executives and managers from companies such as Microsoft, Siemens, Hill and Knowlton, McKinsey Consulting, and various law firms, large and small.

David is also an internationally experienced and certified mediator and conflict resolution professional with extensive experience in resolving conflict in complex legal, organizational and cross-cultural settings. He has mediated or negotiated successful resolutions of disputes between the Chinese government and multi-national corporations, complex commercial and investment matters, and organizational and interpersonal conflict within management teams, boards of directors and stakeholder groups.

David's extensive international experience also provides him with agility in working with individuals and teams in cross-cultural contexts.  David has been working with global clients in Europe and Asia since 1980, and lived and worked in the Greater China Region between 1990 and 2001.  He speaks conversational Mandarin Chinese.

In other areas of life David enjoys rock climbing and other wilderness sports, yoga, carpentry, auto mechanics, and is an accomplished stage musician, performing Celtic, Roots, and Folk music with his wife, Jennifer.  She and their three children are his best teachers.

Like Mark Maraia, David truly believes that "relationships are everything" and that these fundamental principles apply both inside and outside of nearly every professional setting.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School
  • B.A., University of Minnesota (Communications)
  • Personal and Professional Coaching Training--Coaches Training Institute
  • Executive Coach Training--LIM Institute, USA
  • Business Process Facilitator Training--Rummler-Brache Group
  • Strategic Facilitator Training--Strategic Thinking Group
  • Advanced Negotiation Skills Training-ENS Pty, Sydney, Australia
  • Organization and Relational Systems Coaching Training-CRR Global, USA
  • Civil Mediation Training--The Mediation Institute
  • Advanced & Large Group Mediation Training, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
  • Pepperdine University Master Mediators' Forum
  • Trained and certified to administer MBTI, The Leadership Circle, and other assessment tools
  • Career and Life Planning Coaching-Richard Bolles
  • Mandarin Chinese--Self-taught

MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS

  • American Arbitration Association Mediator
  • Center for Public Resources, China Business Mediator
  • Federal Executive Board Mediator
  • Certified International Mediator, Center for Public Resources
  • International Coach Federation
  • American Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, Former Vice Chairman
  • Washington State Bar Association
  • California State Bar Association (Inactive)
  • Michigan State Bar Association (Retired)
  • New York State Bar Association
  • MENSA Society International