Dan Israel is an operations and strategy executive with more than 15 years of experience in insurance and financial services, retail, and advanced manufacturing. He helps complex, relationship-driven organizations turn strategy into execution by building the structure, cadence, and accountability that close the gap between an ambitious plan and the results it's meant to deliver.

Dan is a Senior Consultant with Bâton Global, where he advises leadership teams on strategy activation, operating model design, and growth initiatives.

Most recently, Dan spent four years as Managing Director of the Global Insurance Accelerator in Des Moines, a carrier-backed venture accelerator with a portfolio of nearly 90 insurtech companies. He led strategy and execution, P&L, carrier sponsor and investor growth, and board management. Before GIA, he led enterprise innovation strategy at Principal Financial Group, partnering with business unit leaders on growth and transformation. He held finance leadership roles at Target and began his career at Rolls-Royce.

Dan holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Iowa. Outside of the Vaughan Institute, he serves as President of the board of Central Iowa Aquatics.