Executive Spotlight: Dave Gerhardt, Founder of Exit Five (2027)
Dave Gerhardt is the founder of Exit Five, a community, newsletter and podcast for B2B marketers. Exit Five's about page says he has worked in B2B marketing for more than 15 years, a path it describes as going from PR intern to CMO, and that he led marketing at Drift and Privy.
He matters because he turned that operator background into a business built around peer learning. The page says no one goes to school for B2B marketing, so Exit Five aims to speed up what marketers learn from each other. He also wrote Founder Brand, published in 2022.
This page uses public professional information only.
Current role and company
Exit Five's about page lists Gerhardt as the founder. It says he writes the Exit Five newsletter and hosts the Exit Five podcast. The page does not give him a separate job title, so this page uses "Founder."
- Exit Five (about page)Founder; writes the newsletter and hosts the podcast.
- What Exit Five is (about page)A private community, free newsletter, weekly podcast, live sessions, a CMO Council and an executive retreat for B2B marketers.
- Podcast (Exit Five podcast page)Weekly show hosted by Gerhardt on demand gen, brand, content, positioning and building marketing teams.
Career path
- Early career. Exit Five describes his path as going from PR intern to CMO. Attention's profile lists marketing and account management roles at Constant Contact and Privy.
- HubSpot. The Attention profile says he produced HubSpot's podcast The Growth Show; it does not state his title.
- Drift. Attention lists him as VP of Marketing at Drift, where it says he helped create the Conversational Marketing category, and later Chief Brand Officer. Exit Five says he led marketing at Drift.
- Privy. Attention lists him as Chief Marketing Officer of Privy. Exit Five says he led marketing there.
- Exit Five. He founded Exit Five, which is now his main role according to the company's own pages.
- Education. The Attention profile lists a bachelor's degree in marketing from Wagner College, 2009.
The sources read for this page do not give start and end dates for the Drift and Privy roles, so none are stated here.
What he is known for
- Exit Five. A peer community where B2B marketers ask questions and share results, plus a newsletter and podcast around it.
- Founder Brand. His book, Founder Brand: Turn Your Story Into Your Competitive Advantage, was released on February 15, 2022 by Lioncrest Publishing and runs 250 pages, per Kirkus Reviews.
- Conversational marketing at Drift. Attention credits him with helping create the Conversational Marketing category and launching Drift's HYPERGROWTH conference.
- Live events. Exit Five's podcast page says its Drive event in Vermont drew 800+ people and that Exit Five is retiring Drive. Its about page lists a two-day Marketing Leadership Retreat for 150 executives, set for March 1 to 3, 2027 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Leadership style and philosophy
These points come from Exit Five's about page and from Kirkus Reviews' summary of his book, not from a separate interview.
- Learn from peers. The about page says most useful knowledge comes from people who have already tried the work, and that Exit Five exists to speed up that learning.
- Real numbers, not noise. Exit Five says it focuses on real plays, real numbers and honest advice from people doing the work now.
- Practitioners over theory. Content comes from marketers who can explain how they did something, per the about page.
- People buy from people. Kirkus says Founder Brand argues that founders can strengthen marketing by telling their own stories, because customers often connect with a person more than a company.
Key numbers (company-reported)
These figures come from Exit Five's own about and podcast pages as read on October 31, 2026. Pages are updated often, so the counts will change.
- Private community members (about page)5,700+ B2B marketers.
- Newsletter readers (about page)40,000+, sent twice a week.
- Podcast episodes (about page)400+; the podcast page shows the latest as #410.
- Peer-sourced answers (about page)8,000+ in the community.
- CMO Council (about page)For in-house CMOs and VPs of Marketing at B2B companies with $50M+ in revenue.
What to watch next
Worth tracking: the March 2027 Marketing Leadership Retreat, what replaces Drive now that Exit Five is retiring it, and how the CMO Council grows.
Questions people ask
Who is Dave Gerhardt?
He is the founder of Exit Five, a community, newsletter and podcast for B2B marketers, and the author of Founder Brand.
What does Dave Gerhardt do now?
Exit Five's about page lists him as founder; he writes its newsletter and hosts its podcast.
Was he at Drift and Privy?
Yes. Exit Five says he led marketing at both, and Attention's profile lists him as VP of Marketing and later Chief Brand Officer at Drift and as CMO of Privy.
What is Founder Brand?
A 2022 book from Lioncrest Publishing arguing that founders should tell their own stories to strengthen their company's marketing, per Kirkus.
How big is Exit Five?
Exit Five reports 5,700+ community members and 40,000+ newsletter readers on its about page.
Sources
- Exit Five: About · Role, philosophy, company numbers
- Exit Five: Podcast · Podcast format, Drive event
- Attention: Who is Dave Gerhardt, Founder at Exit Five · Career roles, education
- Kirkus Reviews: Founder Brand · Book details and argument
Facts were read from the linked pages on October 31, 2026. Pages were read through a fetch tool that returns summaries, so confirm details on the original page. The Attention profile is a third-party source and gives no dates. The hero photo is a portrait of Gerhardt from the Executive Review photo library, centered on a card, because no photo naming him was found on Exit Five's own pages or on Wikimedia Commons. This page covers public professional information only.
Top photo: Exit Five