About

Two-time SaaS CEO.
AI Pioneer.

For fifteen years, I have built systems and scaled organizations at the intersection of data science, artificial intelligence, and human leadership.

My career began in the trenches of enterprise sales—making cold calls in Miami and learning the physics of commercial growth firsthand. That operational grounding shaped my fundamental belief: technology is only valuable when it solves a specific business problem and drives measurable revenue.

In 2011, long before "AI" became a boardroom buzzword, I joined the founding team of IP Street. We built proprietary Natural Language Processing algorithms to analyze the entire U.S. patent database, delivering competitive intelligence to Google, Amazon, HP, and Apple. It was my first lesson in translating deep tech into executive-level strategy.

"I watched a statistical model predict a catastrophic failure rate for a nursing cohort perfectly. It changed my career trajectory permanently."

Later, I partnered with the inventor of Computerized Adaptive Testing to build assess.ai, one of the first AI-driven assessment platforms. We scaled it globally, delivering exams to half a million students across nine nations and driving 554% YoY growth in North America.

Most recently, as CEO of Via TRM, I led the turnaround of a vertical SaaS company in higher education, expanding it from a single product to a comprehensive platform, driving 240%+ revenue growth, and establishing a new paradigm for academic travel risk management.

Today, I bring this operational and technological experience to CEOs, boards, and private equity firms as an advisor and board member, helping them architect growth and implement AI safely and profitably.

Dave Saben on stage
Career Arc

From Miami cold calls to enterprise AI architecture.

Feb 2023–Present

Chief Executive Officer & Board Member

Via
ChallengeTransform a single-product higher-ed SaaS platform into the operating system for academic travel.
OutcomeDrove 240%+ revenue growth ($1.8M → $6.5M), now serving 250+ universities across four product lines: education abroad, international student services, travel risk management, and the Via Connects provider marketplace.
Aug 2019–Mar 2022

Chief Experience Officer (CXO) & Executive VP (acquired)

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers
ChallengeLead the digital transformation of the world's most extensive Cisco, Microsoft, and CompTIA-authorized independent training partner — 30M+ students trained in 35+ years.
OutcomeImplemented a new growth structure that delivered 73% YoY revenue growth. Led the global digital transformation and co-created ATLAS, an Adaptive Technology Learning Assessment Solution connecting learners to careers.
Jun 2019–Dec 2025

Board Member (acquired)

Triad Behavioral Health
ChallengeReshape the growth profile of a behavioral & mental health services and software company.
OutcomeHelped lead a strategic transformation of Triad's revenue mix from ~15% B2B to over 50% B2B — a key value driver ahead of Triad's successful exit to Baum Capital Partners.
2014–2019

Chief Executive Officer & President

Assessment Systems Corporation
ChallengeModernize and internationally scale a psychometrics pioneer founded in 1979 out of the University of Minnesota.
OutcomeGrew North American revenue 554% YoY while cutting expenses 63%, and grew ARR 488%, with triple-digit regional growth across APAC and EMEA. Launched assess.ai — one of the first AI-driven assessment platforms — and partnered with Ministries of Education in Iceland, UAE, Oman, and Singapore, plus the College Board, to deliver online testing to half a million students across nine nations. Ranked #7 fastest-growing company in Minneapolis by Inc. Magazine.
2012–2014

Senior VP of Sales & Marketing (acquired)

IP Street
ChallengeCommercialize an NLP-driven patent intelligence platform — AI products a decade before AI became a category.
OutcomeJoined the founding team and drove 367% partnership growth serving Google, Amazon, HP, and Apple — building the customer momentum that led to IP Street's acquisition by AON.
2012–2014

Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer (acquired)

Exam Ave
ChallengeBuild a nursing school readiness platform with 2,000+ hours of adaptive, interactive content.
OutcomeSet product vision for a patent-pending adaptive learning management system and drove a hyper-growth strategy that established academic boot camps at 50+ colleges nationally.
Jan 2011–Present

Co-Founder & Senior Advisor

EdTech Growth
ChallengeAdvise founders, investors, boards, and C-suite operators across the education technology space.
Outcome15+ years partnering on growth assessment, GTM optimization, fractional leadership, and operational remediation — particularly through capital events and leadership transitions.
2005–2011

Vice President of Sales

Ascend Learning (ATI Testing · ATI Nursing Education · NHA)
ChallengeScale predictive assessment adoption across three Ascend Learning portfolio companies.
OutcomeCreated a rapid-growth sales model that doubled revenues in 11 months while expanding EBITDA by 23 points — through the company's exit to Providence Equity Partners, a first PE liquidity event. As Director of National Accounts, personally drove $3.2M of new revenue in 10 months. Earlier, grew an underperforming territory by $997,789 in a single year — a company record.

Looking for formal bios or headshots?

Access the Press KitSchedule a Conversation