About Us

The Virtual Advisory Board (VAB) is a virtual and global, community style platform founded by executive headhuner and YPO member Mark Hamill and e-commerce entrepreneur David Fernandez at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since that time, the world, specifically the global economy, has been in a phase of change and disruption. And since it's launch VAB has become a trusted partner for helping senior, C-level leaders, entrepreneurs and investors navigate various phases of their continuing career transition and professional evolution.

Today VAB is a community that brings over 1300 top-tier, highly succesful business leaders, innovators and visionaries who through our community have created a safe space to learn, skill up, test ideas and inspire one another in their future professional journeys.

Our Mission

Our mission is to help our members navigate their way through the continuing journey of professional transition to support their aims of developing portfolio careers.

Our Vision

To create the best global community where our high-calibre, expert members can access, in a safe, trusted space, all relevant resources needed for achieving their goals for their professional transformation and designing portfolio careers.

Our Values

Talent Diversity & Inclusivity
Top-Quality Advisory Talent & Services
Fun & Collegial Community Environment
Member-driven Programming
Investing in and Supporting People
Curating Success

Our Founders

Mark Hamill

Chairman & Co-Founder

Mark Hamill is a board-level advisor and ecosystem builder. In the past, he served as CEO of Spengler Fox and today is a board member (NED) at Ackermann International.

Mark has extensive experience working with senior executives, founders, and investors across governance boards, advisory boards and in portfolio career structures.

He has a deep understanding of how people actually access board and advisory roles: through credibility, compelling narratives and trusted peer environments — not transactional approaches.

David Fernandez

Head of Institutional Relations, Co-Chair & Co-Founder

David Fernandez brings to VAB a background in strategy development, entrepreneurial journey consulting, high-growth global corporate environments, executive advisory- and network-driven growth. He has held senior roles with renowned global brands like Kraft, Groupon and Vend.

David has experience building and scaling professional communities with strict admission standards and high member engagement. His work in VAB focuses on operationalising trust: transforming informal executive networks into structured, easily replicable ecosystems.