David Vance is co-author with Peggy Parskey of Measurement Demystified (2021) and Measurement Demystified Field Guide (2022). He is also the author of The Business of Learning: How to Manage Corporate Training to Improve Your Bottom Line, second edition (2017).

He is the founder and former Executive Director of the Center for Talent Reporting (a nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation and implementation of standards for human capital reporting and management) where he and Peggy developed Talent Development Reporting Principles (TDRP) which provide guidance and standards for the measurement, management and reporting of human capital.

He is the founder and former President of Caterpillar University which provided learning to meet the needs and help achieve the goals of the company and its dealers. Prior to these positions, Dave was Chief Economist and Head of the Business Intelligence Group at Caterpillar Inc., with responsibility for economic outlooks, sales forecasts, market research, competitive analysis and business information systems.

Dave received his Bachelor of Science Degree in political science from M.I.T. in 1974, a Master of Science Degree in business administration from Indiana University (South Bend) in 1983, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 1988.

Dave was named 2006 Chief Learning Officer (CLO) of the Year by Chief Learning Officer magazine. He also was named 2004 Corporate University Leader of the Year by the International Quality and Productivity Center in their annual CUBIC (Corporate University Best in Class) Awards. Caterpillar was ranked number one in the 2005 ASTD Best Awards and was named Best Overall Corporate University in 2004 by both Corporate University Xchange and the International Quality and Productivity Center.

Dave is a frequent speaker at learning conferences and association meetings. He conducts workshops on managing the learning function, and teaches in the human capital management PhD program at Bellevue University. He also teaches in the CLO executive education program at George Mason University. Dave is a member of Working Group 2 for ISO Technical Committee 260 on Human Resource Management where he led the effort to publish the first comprehensive standard for L&D metrics in June 2023.