the Wond'ry

Areas of Expertise:Leadership, Networking, Operations

In his role as Principal at Ryan Search & Consulting, Dan leads the Talent Acquisition, Talent Development and Succession Strategy processes for the firm and their clients. Dan leads the firm in providing a seamless system of strategic methods that enable clients to look at their talent needs from an internal and external perspective. The primary market segments for the firm include Engineering, Construction, Architecture, Manufacturing, and Healthcare.

Dan has worked with multi-national clients employing large workforces and has also helped small firms in the emerging economy understand how to best understand, utilize and leverage their existing talent.

Dan has earned a M.Ed. from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, an MBA from Tennessee State University, and a BS in Engineering Physics from Murray State University. He is an adjunct faculty member for Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and has also taught for Belmont University.

To meet with Dan, or any of our excellent mentors, please fill out this interest form.

Q. What excites you most about the Wond’ry?

A. I like having the opportunity to work with passionate people who have a goal in mind. The Wond’ry provides with an outlet to utilize my skills and experience to aid these types of individuals.

Q. What do you feel are the most important skills you have to offer in your role as a mentor?

A. Skills that I can offer as a mentor include identifying team members, clarifying roles and structure as organizations grow, understanding how to identify competencies that are present and that are needed in a team and helping individuals and teams work through challenges and perform better.

Q. What has been your proudest moment in your career?

A. I had the opportunity several years ago to work with a group to identify a concept and to then raise the funds in a community to make this concept a reality. That organization recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and plays an integral role for the entire community.

Q. What has surprised you most about your job?

A. My current role allows me to utilize skills that I have gained and used throughout my career. At first the concept of business development scared me, but as time has passed I have found that identifying and capturing clients is something I enjoy as much as anything I do.

Q. If you could do everything over again, would you make the same career choices?

A. I would not change anything I have done in my life, but I might speed up some things I did later and start them earlier in my career.

Q. In your opinion, what is the most important quality for success?

A. I have found that perseverance is the most critical ingredient for success. The world is full of ideas that never get to implementation, but I find great satisfaction in having the opportunity to achieve success in my current business through hard work and the help of many.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A.When I was young I was first infatuated with the idea of being an astronaut. Having grown up as a boomer, the space program was always something I found to be fascinating.