Chief Executive Coach

Daniel (Dan) Elder lives his vision to assist servicemembers as they return to the civilian workforce. He formed a new start-up in 2008 after a 26-year career as a U.S. Army noncommissioned officer and executive leader. A 4-time Hall of Fame inductee and graduate of the Sergeants Major Academy, Dan served as the Army’s most senior enlisted logistician as the command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Material Command. Transitioning to industry first as a Knowledge Consultant with Computer Sciences Corporation, and then as the Director of Business Development with McLane Advanced Technologies, in 2013 he returned to consulting and formed Topsarge Business Solutions, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business delivering organizational and leader development and professional services.

An award-wining US Army tech pioneer, Dan spun out his successful digital division which became milMedia Group in 2017. As a portfolio entrepreneur he is responsible for growing two veteran-owned companies, a Leader Development Center and a Research Group, and to manage his distributed workforce. He is accountable for managing project strategies, developing schedules, quality control, and on time delivery that is on budget. Assisting Dan is his wife Gloria and their employees and associates who curate a portfolio of government and commercial client projects, which includes training, business services, subject matter experts, R&D, administration, coaching, staff augmentation, and web and digital services.

A seasoned executive with service in many positions of authority, Dan is a training facilitator, researcher and a certified executive coach. He has more than 20-years serving as a subject matter expert and participant in military-themed research and development supporting Army-focused activities with RAND Arroyo Center, the Army Research Institute (ARI), the Fors Marsh Group and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO).

Together he and his team assist the U.S. Army with analysis and research to identify methods to substantially advance the state of science to accomplish the Army’s mission. A noted speaker and writer, Dan is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and an AUSA Institute of Land Warfare Senior Fellow. He has authored six books and is a 2018 General and Mrs. Matthew B. Ridgway Military History Research Grant awardee.

Earning a Master of Science degree in Corporate & Organizational Communication from Northeastern University, Boston, MA, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Touro College, New York, NY. Dan also completed post-graduate studies in Organizational Behavior and Executive Coaching from the University of Texas-Dallas  Naveen Jindal School of Management. He is a certified executive coach by the International Coach Federation and is a Wiley Everything DiSC certified trainer. Dan volunteers his time as the Chairman of the Temple Military Affairs Committee and a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a Rotary International member.