Business Consultant's Biggest Challenge Was Not in the Boardroom

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains.

What does a person do to challenge himself after going from being a poor, single-parent dad to the head of a management consultant company that has worked with 90-plus companies in 31 countries?

How does one go on after his oldest child is killed in a freak mountain-climbing accident at the age of 18?

You turn your grief into public service — which is exactly what David Zenoff did.

“My challenge was to move on and find some meaning in the loss of my child,” said Zenoff, a former Whitefish Bay resident.

Zenoff grew up on the east side of Milwaukee, attending the University School of Milwaukee, and moved to Whitefish Bay for his high school years. At Whitefish Bay, he was the junior class president, prom king, editor of the school yearbook, an all-state swimmer and a state gold medal winner in forensics.

After graduating from Stanford University and Harvard University, Zenoff became a business consultant and has worked with companies such as Wells Fargo Bank, General Electric and The Nestle Co., the University of Notre Dame and many others.

But the biggest challenge in his life was dealing with his son's death, and Zenoff found two ways to ease his grief and bring light into the world. For starters, he works with other parents who have lost their children. In addition, he assists young people who have been marginalized in this world and are looking for a safe landing spot. 

“It is very lonely to lose a child,” he said. “But parents welcome someone who went through it to sit with them and answer the questions of how to get joy back into their lives, how to handle holidays, birthdays and anniversaries.”

Zenoff said he just listens and follows the lead of the parents. He does not make judgments and doesn't expect them to grieve in the way he did.

The other way Zenoff dealt with the challenge of losing his son is to give back to children who are like his son – marginal students, loners. So he went to work with the Larkin Street Youth Service in San Francisco to help homeless youth.

“It was my major non-work project for 18 years,” he said.

He may not have directly worked with the children, but he used his business acumen to increase donations to the center and to put people on the board who were philanthropic and concerned for children.

“I feel I've been successful because this center has become a model for helping homeless youth across the nation," he said. "But we as a society won't be successful as a whole until all these types of kids are loved and cared for."

Related:

• Whitefish Bay alum writes new book on successful organizations
• Zenoff's "Soul of the Organization" website
• YouTube: Zenoff talks about his new book

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