Beyond the Balance Sheet: A Leader's Blueprint for a Family-Feel Company

If you walked into David Stauffer’s office on any given day, you might find the CEO of Title Midwest doing something unexpected: carefully handwriting birthday cards. Not a few. Hundreds. One for each of his 350 employees across 65 offices. He times the mailings so they land as close to the employee’s birthday as the Postal Service allows. It’s quiet work, repetitive even, but it’s also the rhythm of a leader building something enduring, one gesture at a time.

That attention to detail didn’t start with title insurance. It started with his grandfather, a 97-year-old who still writes notes to every kid, grandkid, and great-grandkid. David absorbed the lesson early: small acts, consistently done, create deep roots.

But David didn’t set out to join the family business. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in accounting, he launched into the tech world, joining Cerner and spending a decade installing hospital software from coast to coast. He led teams, tackled multimillion-dollar rollouts, and lived out of suitcases, hopping between Florida and Hawaii, chasing big wins. Title?

That could wait.

In 2009, curiosity crept in. He floated the idea to his father, John, who had started the title company in the 1990s. The housing market was collapsing. John didn’t sugarcoat it: “Are you blind? Look at what’s happening.” So David stayed in tech, climbing higher.

By 2012, John made another pitch. Still, the timing wasn’t right. David was managing 100 people, loved his work, and had his eyes set on international projects. But something was shifting. A few years later, in 2015, over beers at a local bar, father and son finally drew up a plan. David would come home, start from the ground up, and someday, take the reins. He began where many title stories do: the closing table. He worked in the Kansas City branch, learning title searches, settlement statements, the rhythm of a deal. Compared to tech, it felt analog, clunky. But where others saw paperwork, David saw opportunity. He began to chip away at inefficiencies, drawing from his Cerner playbook: better processes, cleaner packets, smoother communications.

By 2016, he was leading acquisitions. First, Dominion Title in Green Bay. Then in 2018, Main Street Title in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Growth brought complexity: How do you scale without losing the soul of local offices? David’s answer: blend, don’t bulldoze. Preserve identity, add support, and let people shine.

Then came 2020. A global pause. While others scrambled, David held steady. He protected reserves, focused on smart hires, and avoided rash moves. And when the market stabilized, he hit the gas. In 2023, while they already had a location in Rochester, MN, they made an acquisition that brought the company closer to Minneapolis, MN. And the company kept growing, but for David, growth only mattered if it felt personal.

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That’s where the birthday cards come in.

Each one is handwritten, sealed with a logo sticker, and customized. Some are deeply personal, some are simply kind. One employee from rural Nebraska texted him, nearly in tears: “I didn’t even know you knew I was here.” David smiled. He knew her name, her story, her work. He’s confident he could name nearly all 350 employees on sight.

Culture is his operating system. In every office, vinyl letters on the wall spell out values: Give Back. Stay Healthy. Embrace Change. Have Fun. But they’re more than decals. David hires and leads by them. “If you don’t fit, I’ll shake your hand and wish you luck,” he says. He’s turned down talented dealmakers who didn’t align, favoring cohesion over conquest. He visits offices often, grabbing lunch, checking in, reminding teams they matter.

If he had one wish? A “pre-closing huddle” the moment a purchase agreement is signed. Everyone - realtor, lender, buyer, seller, inspector - in the room with a playbook. Clear roles. Real expectations. It’s simple, effective, and incredibly hard to execute. But David hasn’t given up. It’s the kind of challenge that excites him: high stakes, lots of moving parts, and huge upside for everyone involved.

In February 2024, the plan hatched over beers came full circle. John stepped down, and David became CEO. The weight of the Stauffer name shifted to his shoulders. His brother-in-law runs Oklahoma, and his cousins have key roles, but David sets the tone.

He’s not the CEO buried in title reports or overseeing every closing. He trusts his people. His strength is seeing the whole chessboard, remembering every square, and keeping the game moving with grace.

David Stauffer’s leadership isn’t loud. It’s steady, precise, and deeply human. Whether it’s sealing a birthday card or sealing a deal, he knows the little things matter most. In a business built on trust and tradition, he’s quietly redefining what modern leadership looks like—one handwritten note at a time.