Advancing Black Leadership at the Board and Executive Level 

Tomorrow, Daversa Partners will be holding an interactive webinar focusing on Dreamscape, its new business unit dedicated to advancing Black representation on the boards and executive teams of companies and investing firms in technology. “Dreamscape was built on the premise that the tech community does not, in fact, have a pipeline or scarcity issue – but rather it suffers from an access problem to diverse leaders,” says Clinton Browning, head of Dreamscape.

January 11, 2022 – Black executives have largely not been afforded the same opportunities in tech start-ups and venture capital, according to Daversa Partners. To answer the call, the search firm has established Dreamscape to address the issue by focusing on industry-wide equity and transformation. By working in partnership with CEOs, founders and investors who are committed to making sure there is Black representation at the leadership level, Dreamscape is serving as a catalyst for change.

“Dreamscape was built on the premise that the tech community does not, in fact, have a pipeline or scarcity issue – but rather it suffers from an access problem to diverse leaders,” said Clinton Browning, head of Dreamscape. “This business unit was built on the premise that the tech community does not in fact have a pipeline or scarcity issue – but rather it suffers from an access problem to diverse leaders,” Mr. Browning said. “We knew that we needed to find a way to uniquely and effectively create change and make an urgent impact – thus Dreamscape, which was founded in 2020. Dreamscape’s single charter, mission, and purpose is to ensure there is Black representation on the boards and executive teams of the most important companies and VCs in technology.”


Join Daversa Partners tomorrow for an interactive webinar supported by Hunt Scanlon Media. The session will focus on Dreamscape, a newly launched business unit of Daversa Partners dedicated to advancing Black representation on the boards and executive teams of companies and investing firms in technology.

Black executives have largely not been afforded the same opportunities in tech startups and venture capital, according to Daversa. Dreamscape addresses this by focusing on industry-wide equity and transformation. By working in partnership with CEOs, founders and investors who are committed to making sure there is Black representation at the leadership level, Dreamscape is serving as a catalyst for change. 

“Dreamscape was built on the premise that the tech community does not, in fact, have a pipeline or scarcity issue – but rather it suffers from an access problem to diverse leaders,” said Clinton Browning, head of Dreamscape. Click here to sign up!


“We know that diverse executive teams and boards of directors lead to better results and long-term success – driving higher returns, decreasing risk and increasing key performance,” Mr. Browning said. “However, Black executives have largely not been afforded the same opportunities in tech. This is where Dreamscape plays a crucial role with its clients – we work with mission driven companies and founders and connect them with accomplished executives or board-ready operators, all while creating a search process centered around intentionality and inclusivity.”

Catalyst for Change

 During the free webinar hosted by Hunt Scanlon Media, Mr. Browning will share in detail how this “concept” evolved into the largest standalone business unit that Daversa Partners has ever built in its 30-year history. He will explore the search firm’s early learnings and delve into a case study from the work the firm has done with one of its first strategic partners – Venrock.

“Most importantly,” said Mr. Browning. “it’s about unabashed commitment and accountability. To effect real change, the story line needs to shift from ‘If you can find diverse talent that would be great,’ to ‘We pledge to change the landscape and that change must happen from within.’ We see this kind of change happen when we as an industry decisively push the aperture wider, because guess what? The time for change is right now!”

Mr. Browning said a first step is to recognize that what we have done historically has not worked. “If we continue to turn to our same circles of influence, we will never get to the diverse array of people who are just outside of our immediate network,” he said. “And these are the transformative people who undoubtedly will make a difference within organizations,” he noted.

“In the 30 years since I have been working in executive search, this has been the most impactful initiative and largest standalone division that Daversa Partners has ever built,” said founder and CEO Paul Daversa. “Dreamscape is intently focused on industry-wide equity and transformation. By working in partnership with CEOs, founders and investors who are committed to making sure that there is Black representation at the leadership level, we believe that Dreamscape can serve as a catalyst for change within the most important tech companies of our generation.”

A Closer Look at the Speakers

Clinton Browning, partner & head of Dreamscape

Mr. Browning is responsible for leading Daversa’s business unit, Dreamscape, which is dedicated to ensuring there is Black representation on the boards and executive teams of companies and investing firms in technology. Knowing that Black executives have largely not been afforded the same opportunities in tech start-ups and venture capital, Dreamscape and the rest of the Daversa team considered ways the firm could effectively make an impact on this issue. The result was Dreamscape, which connects well-established members of startups and venture capital firms that are looking for executives or board directors with accomplished, proven and board-ready Black talent.

Michelle Comendul, director at Daversa Partners

A marketing and strategy executive turned headhunter, it’s no wonder Ms. Comendul’s first charter at Daversa was to support the firm’s marketing and go-to market practice. She has since broadened her body of work to include marketing, CEO, finance, product, and customer success. Ms. Comendul spends the majority of her time in enterprise software and SMB as well as consumer. Some of her most recent work includes Board, VP and C-level placements for HubSpot, Dataminr, Nexthink, BetterUp, AppLovin, Zscaler, Freshworks, Klaviyo and Demandbase. In addition to her search work, Ms. Comendul co-leads Daversa Partners’ data and analytics center, which is comprised of a team focused on identifying and building relationships with the next generation of technology leaders and innovators.

Sharah Marwah, head of talent at Venrock

Ms. Marwah joined Venrock in 2017 as head of talent. She focuses on talent strategy for both the firm and portfolio companies. Previously, she was director of recruiting at One Medical, a business focused on transforming healthcare technology, delivery, and experience in primary care. There she built, scaled, and led the team responsible for recruiting for the organization (from 200-plus to 1200-plus team members) across a diverse range of talent including clinical, executive, corporate, product and engineering. Prior to One Medical, Ms. Marwah spent several years leading executive search projects at Daversa Partners for industry leading innovative technology start-ups nationwide.

Related: Strategies for Diversity Talent Acquisition Planning

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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