David Sapenoff, MA
Director of Service Provisioning and Data Base Operations, Embarq Corporation
Teaching focus: Human Resources

Where I come from

I entered college hoping to become a podiatrist like my uncle, but economics fascinated me and I switched my major, eventually concentrating in labor relations for both my bachelor's and master's degrees. I worked for the Teamsters Union in New York City for six years as a labor organizer before transitioning to the management side of labor relations, then expanding out to a human resources track. My first HR job was at the New York State Society of CPAs.

In 1984 I joined the HR department at Sprint Telecommunications. At Sprint I started out as an Employee Relations Specialist and advanced through a series of managerial and director-level positions, ultimately becoming the Director of Human Resources for the Network Services division, which employed 10,000 people. In this position, I worked in the full generalist capacity, with responsibilities for recruitment, compensation, labor relations, employee satisfaction and workforce planning.

Challenges and triumphs

I now work at a spun-off subsidiary of Sprint, Embarq Corporation, in an operations rather than an HR position. After 20 years, switching careers internally within the company was a significant challenge. At the request of a senior vice president, I accepted a line management position in operations in Network Services. The job was to run a series of technical call centers and I could not have answered a single incoming call. I told him that, and he said, "I'm not worried, you'll figure it out." And I did, and I love it. The real lesson in that is, if you can pick up leadership, analytical and people management skills, you can manage anything.

My HR background was very instrumental to my success in this transition. In effect, I had to walk my talk about performance management and alignment with overall corporate strategies, goals, and objectives. In the mid-90s, when I was Director of Employee Satisfaction and Workforce Planning, I was responsible for the company's annual survey of 65,000 employees. I was responsible not just for mechanically making it work but also for deciphering what the results were and making recommendations for improvement that would increase the commitment employees felt for their jobs and the company. We also provide corporate-wide workforce planning, with studies statistically linking employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction.

Put yourself in the manager's position

I teach as though my students were already managers in an organization. For example, in Employment Law, I present situations the students can expect to see and handle, and teach them what they need to know as managers to keep themselves and their organizations from running afoul of the law. The important question is what the test is for sexual harassment or racial discrimination, not what the legal precedent is for trying the case.

Passing the baton

I started teaching at Keller Graduate School of Management in 1994. As an HR professional I always liked delivering classroom training, but teaching Keller courses gave me a much greater scope to pass on my skills and knowledge. I was also heavily involved in the curriculum development for the Negotiation Skills course.

I am very enthusiastic about teaching. I try to keep lectures interesting, keep students involved and engaged, and challenge them. I give my home phone number and cell phone number to my students so they may contact me whenever they need to. I want to instill in students the mindset of strategic thinking, flexibility and adaptability that allowed me to thrive for the last 24 years in one of the most rapidly changing industries on the planet. I have also referred many Keller graduates for potential employment.

Why Keller?

My graduate degree program was a traditional evening program - paper-intensive, lecture-driven, the professors turned up, gave their lectures and left. They did not have the obvious interest in us that Keller faculty members have. I find Keller's emphasis on interactivity with students and on practical applications of the material refreshing.

What sets Keller apart is its career orientation. Keller prepares students for practical situations and for success. It is directed at, appeals to, and is a good thing for returning students and adult learners. Keller has higher educational standards and a higher quality of student overall than the competition. A Keller master's degree is a well-respected degree from a school with a solid reputation.