David C. Hay

Dave Hay, a veteran of the information industry since the days of punched cards, paper tape and teletype machines, has been producing data models to support strategic information planning and requirements analysis since the mid-1980s. He has worked in a variety of industries including, among others, power generation, clinical pharmaceutical research, upstream and downstream oil production and processing, forestry, banking, foster care and broadcast. He is the founder and president of Essential Strategies, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to helping clients define corporate information architecture, identify requirements and plan strategies for the implementation of new systems, including data warehouses. More recently, the company has become deeply immersed in the problems of defining, specifying and implementing metadata repositories. Hay’s background in philosophy and data modeling leave him perfectly situated to participate in the new/old field of semantics. His work with clients is usually concerned with defining an organization’s semantics. A pioneer in the use of standard data models for standard business situations, he is the author of the book, Data Model Patterns: Conventions of Thought. He has brought his considerable experience in requirements analysis into play in writing Requirements Analysis: From Business Views to Architecture. His latest book, Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map, describes a comprehensive schema encompassing all aspects of metadata. He is a member of DAMA International, the International Oracle User’s Group, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, as well as local chapters of both. He has spoken numerous times at events sponsored by these groups and others. Hay’s bachelor’s degree in philosophy is from Claremont McKenna College, and he has an MBA in quantitative analysis from New York University.

Publications