About
About Dennis Cagan –
SHADOW CEO ®
Dennis Jay Cagan is a noted high-technology entrepreneur, respected CEO, professional board director – over 70 corporate for-profit fiduciary boards, venture investor, mentor, consultant, and Shadow CEO. He has founded or co-founded over a dozen different companies, taken some public, and has been the CEO of both public and private companies. He is in the IT Hall of Fame, and his book, The Board of Directors of a Private Enterprise, released in 2017, is considered by many to be one of the most authoritative perspectives available on private company boards and governance issues. He has an impressive track record of both start-up and turn-around situations.
In addition to leading the numerous companies he has founded or co-founded, Dennis has served as an interim and fractional CEO for many years. As examples, he has served as interim President, CEO and Managing Member of a cybersecurity software developer; as President and CEO of a SaaS financial services company; as Chairman, CEO and President of a public company providing distance learning-based workplace training internationally; and CEO of a public company providing proprietary Internet email messaging services which moved from a $100M market cap to over $1B under his leadership .
Career History
Between 1980-1999 Dennis provided consulting services to numerous technology companies including AT&T, IBM, General Electric, and Xerox, as well as dozens of smaller firms.
In 1979 Dennis had the honor of being a Keynote Speaker at the first COMDEX Show in Las Vegas. In 2011 he was inducted into the IT Hall of Fame – Channel Wing, administered by CompTIA. In 2013 The Dallas Business Journal and NACD honored Dennis as one of 12 Outstanding Directors in North Texas.
Since 1983 Dennis has served as a Shadow CEO™ (he received a USPTO Registered Trademark on the term in 2012) or an interim/fractional C-level executive.
Dennis is a recognized authority on corporate governance, boards of directors, information technology (including mobile applications, Internet, infrastructure, e-commerce, software, hardware, systems, cybersecurity, and communications), in the disciplines of governance, strategy, distribution channels, sales/marketing, and services.
He is currently engaged in management consulting through his firm Caganco Incorporated, founded in 1984. Caganco specializes in three areas: working with private company ownership and leadership to develop and manage world-class governance through boards (both fiduciary and advisory), providing his trademarked Shadow CEO™ services, and his unique Governance Forensics which uncovers loopholes allowing for desired changes in company ownership. All are comprised of an intense side-by-side, hands-on approach to helping owners and C-level executives go beyond their current experience set.
Dennis has been a regular contributor of feature articles in a variety of business publications and is likely the only author to have been published in the four most popular board magazines: Directors & Boards, NACD Directorship, Family Business, and Private Company Director. He speaks widely on the subject of boards of directors and governance, including keynoting the inaugural Private Company Governance Summit, in Washington, D.C. in 2013, and speaking again in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019.
In 1976 he founded the David Jamison Carlyle Corp. (his 5th start-up), turning it into one of the country’s earliest and largest distributors of computer peripherals. After being included in Inc. Magazine’s very first published Inc. 100 listing at #32, he took DJC public (DJCC: NASDAQ) in 1981. Since 1983, in addition to his consulting, he has served in several interim CEO positions.
Over the years Dennis has served clients nationwide (in CA, NV, AZ, UT, CO, TX, MO, LA, IL, NH, MA, NY, PA, NC, SC, GA, and FL). He has done business in 35 different countries.
Dennis is a native Californian and attended the University of California at Los Angeles where he majored in Economics. He left UCLA in his third year, impatient to begin a career. He then served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve (’65-’71) and received an honorable discharge. Dennis currently resides in Sarasota, Florida.
