Got Energy? Meet Mr. Centaur Unicorn Hunter himself…David Vanderveen
Founder, XS Energy, Vice President at Amway and Skylab Apps Ambassador, David manages to stay very busy.
David Vanderveen is one of the founders of XS, an energy drink and sports nutrition brand that has lead to the development of great tasting flavors of sugar-free energy drinks. Amway Corporation purchased XS in January 2015 and David continues as global vice president and general manager of the XS business unit.
XS has generated over US$1 billion in sales for Amway in the past decade, moved over 500 million cans, generated over US$250 million in new distributor bonuses and are being sold in over 40 countries around the world.
David received his undergraduate college education at Wheaton and Calvin Colleges in Philosophy and Political Science. Starting his first public relations and marketing company in his early 20s, David helped develop creative earned media and advertising strategies for the term limits movement in the early 1990s. He helped pass term limit laws in 22 states and won a “Poli Award” for national, political advertising. He also developed unique marketing programs and new market launches for ETS Laboratories, which helped propel a small beverage alcohol lab to become the national standard and an international leader for beverage alcohol analysis.
By the late 1990s, David helped a client convert their technology services division into an innovative software consulting firm. His firm was acquired by Computer Associates (CA). David helped create one of the fastest growing consulting groups at CA during the late 1990s, leading him to help launch NonStopNet in 1998, and then become Chief Technology Officer at Znetix in 2000. In 2001, David led the strategic turnaround of Logic Nutrition, which resulted in the re-launch of the XS Energy Drink brand via Amway in 2002. David has led the new business and brand development of XS globally since 2002.
“Skylab Apps solves a big problem for XS Energy in terms of how we leverage and maximize value from our digital and social media communications. Most importantly, we can gamify our business process and incentives which lets us help more entrepreneurs build successful businesses on our platform.”
An advocate of disruptive innovation in business, social, political and religious applications, David regularly publishes essays, has contributed and edited two books, and speaks publicly on the practical application of ideas in culture. He has been published in The Huffington Post, The Orange County Register, Sojourners, The Annenberg School of Journalism at USC’s Religion Dispatches, and the Laguna Beach Independent among others. Dean Grey and David go way back, so when David discovered the power of the Skylab Apps platform it made perfect sense to move the XS energy brand onto the Skylab Apps platform.
David continues a long-term commitment to political and humanitarian causes. He has served as the Director of Public Relations at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Executive Director of Americans for Limited Terms, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, Western States Organizer for US Term Limits, Board Member of Americans for Limited Government, Western Regional Board Member for The Heritage Foundation, Vestry member for Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena, California, and among the first Board Members for Growers First, currently serving on its Executive Committee.
The XS Energy Drink App
David is married to his wife of 22 years, Sarah Vanderveen has two sons in college, and lives in Laguna Beach, California.
