About Dave Schoof

About Dave Schoof

I don't have a map for this moment.

Nobody does.

What I have is decades of learning how to move well in unmapped terrain — inside and out — and how to help others do the same.

I'm an ICF Master Certified Coach, former US intelligence officer, and long-time student of consciousness and human development. I live near Lausanne, Switzerland. I work globally.

I've navigated my own pivots. That's what qualifies me to guide others through theirs.

Three careers.

The Story

One through-line.

For nearly two decades I worked in US counterintelligence and national security. That work taught me things that no classroom could — how to read a room before anyone has spoken, how to hold paradox under pressure, how to navigate complex systems with incomplete information and no clear map. I had a front-row seat to world events, subtle and not-so-subtle uses of power, fast-changing situations that required agility, creativity, and the willingness to trust what the data couldn't yet confirm.

When I left that world, I brought those capacities into developmental coaching and leadership consulting. For over thirty years, that's been the work — alongside a parallel life as a student of consciousness, contemplative traditions, and the wisdom that lives at the intersection of rigour and mystery.

Then something cracked open. Not in one place — everywhere simultaneously. The people I was working with — capable, accomplished, serious people who had done everything right — were disoriented in a way I hadn't seen before. Not a skills gap. Not a strategy problem. Something more fundamental. The ground itself had shifted.

The disorientation isn't a personal failing. It's an accurate response to what's actually happening. But accurate or not, it's not a place you can stay — and it's not a place you navigate out of by applying the old maps harder.

I built The PIVOT specifically for this moment. Not as a program for uncertain times — as a response to a specific threshold that I kept meeting in my work and in myself. Where the familiar navigation fails. Where something genuinely new is required. Where the question isn't how to get back to what worked, but how to develop the capacity to move well in what's actually here.

I know what that capacity is. I've been developing it for decades, across three very different worlds — intelligence work, developmental coaching, and deep consciousness exploration. No one of those worlds could have produced it alone. The combination is what makes The PIVOT possible.

We are living in a genuine in-between. The world that formed the assumptions most of us built our lives on is visibly breaking down. The old maps have stopped working — not temporarily, fundamentally. And most people are still trying to navigate with tools built for a different kind of world.

“All I did was chip away everything that didn’t look like David.”

~Michaelangelo

This quote has shaped my entire approach to coaching. I work from the assumption that the person in front of me is already whole and complete. Not broken, not in need of fixing, not lacking something essential.

They may have forgotten their fullness. There may be layers accumulated over time — learned behaviours, inherited frameworks, the accumulated weight of being who they were supposed to be. But underneath all of that, what they're looking for is already there.

My job is not to add. It's to help chip away what isn't them. What was built for terrain that no longer exists. What was useful once and is now in the way. What was never really theirs to begin with.

I think of this as the work of a revelation artist — Not a teacher. Not a fixer. A guide who helps what's already there become visible.

Background + Training

The combination that makes this work possible.

Not a list — a picture of how different worlds have come together into something that none of them could produce alone.

Coaching + Development

Master-level credentials across multiple traditions

ICF Master Certified Coach — the highest credential in the field
Certified Integral Coach, New Ventures West
Master Certified Coach, Integral Coaching Canada
Aletheia Coaching Program, Levels 1 and 2
Somatic coaching, Strozzi Institute
Trauma-informed coaching
Faculty at two international coaching schools
Coaching since 1996

Intelligence

+ Systems

19 years in US counterintelligence and national security

Reading complex patterns in high-stakes, fast-moving situations
Navigating with incomplete information under pressure
Understanding power, systems, and invisible dynamics
Developing the trust-your-gut intelligence that precedes certainty
Georgetown University — Organizational Development
15+ years consulting in large global firms

Consciousness

+ Contemplative

Thirty years of practice and study

30+ years of meditation practice — teacher and retreat leader
Certified Psychedelic Coach, Third Wave
Deep study across multiple contemplative lineages
Dzogchen Buddhism, Vipassana, Hermetic philosophy
Integral theory and human development
Personal practice with master teachers globally

Florian Irminger

President, Progress & Change Action Lab

Being an executive of a human rights NGO does not become easier, simply thanks to Dave’s support. He does not solve my problems and cannot get stuff done instead of me. He did, however, make me more aware — aware of my way of leading, aware of the impression I can give my colleagues, and aware of the need to be consistent. Since working with Dave, I have used the tools he made me and I gained in self-assurance and in willingness to lead the way I lead. He has been an exceptional eye-opener to me, and I surely think teams that have worked with me have found a more reliable and true leader than I was before.

Dr Amy Albright

HOLON - Co-founder & CEO
- Advanced neuro-energetic training for global impact

Dave is an impeccable man…

deeply attuned, spiritually powerful, and also expert at navigating the practical world. He is a trusted guide who can sense into the truth and expertly guide you through both the difficult and wonderful times in your life.

Dr Amy Albright is a doctor in Chinese medicine and a pioneer in the emerging intersection of neurosciences, consciousness, personal development, and business success.

Zarif Munir

Boston Consulting Group
- Senior Managing Director

He goes past the frameworks, and the academic and moves quickly into practical tips that can be incorporated into your daily life. And at all times be there to make adjustments to the self learning process. And what makes him most impactful is the way he speaks truth to his clients - thoughtfully, patiently, and with clarity. No drama - no hype - just straight up truths that you incorporate to make yourself a better leader. I would recommend Dave to anyone looking to up their game, question their motives and find a new path forward.

Gill Hall

Ministry of Health New Zealand
- Manager Regulated Products

I had the privilege to work with Dave in person and remotely, in group and one on one coaching sessions. He always shows up with great energy. His ability to speak into situations without judgement but with gentle encouragement and challenge have been career defining for me. We have discussed many leadership tools and strategies over the years and I continue to use many of them today. Dave has immense knowledge and leadership stories to provide grounded examples with practical application. I would highly recommend him.