David Kalinowski
Inducted: 2023
Specialties: Primary Research, Qualitative Research, Scenario Planning/War Games, HUMINT, CI Training, Benchmarking Expertise, Strategic Workshop Facilitation
Geographies: North America, Europe
Industries: Consumer Goods, Consulting, Manufacturing, Professional Services
David Kalinowski is President and Co-Founder of Proactive Worldwide, Inc., a leading strategic intelligence consultancy established in 1995 and based outside of Chicago.
With more than 35 years of Competitive Intelligence (CI) experience, David has led the firm in delivering over 7,500 global research and consulting engagements for 225+ Fortune 1000 companies. Under his leadership, Proactive has become a trusted partner for CI research, analysis, training, and consulting across a wide range of industries, and won Stevie Awards for its Innovation, Business Titan Awards for delivering Excellence, and recognized by Investopedia in 2021 as the best specialty market research company in the area of competitive analysis.
A dedicated educator and mentor, David has trained more than 3,000 CI professionals in over 25 countries. He is also deeply committed to giving back, actively volunteering and supporting philanthropic organizations including the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Feed My Starving Children, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, NIU Foundation, Purple Hearts, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Salvation Army, and Special Olympics.
David is the co-author of two bestselling books—New Directions: A Competitive Intelligence Tale (2011) and The CI-Driven CEO (2022). His latest work, The Sacrifice Paradox: Navigating Life’s Choices and Trade-offs, will be published in Fall 2025.
He earned a B.S. in Political Science and Public Law from Northern Illinois University and has completed executive education programs at institutions such as MIT.
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