November 14, 2025 • 12 mins
CEOs You Should Know DFW features candid conversations with leaders shaping business in North Texas and beyond, hosted by Chris Long, Region President of iHeartMedia Dallas/Fort Worth. Follow, Rate, and Subscribe on the podcast platform you are listening on!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joining us right now is David Fox. He's the chief
executive officer of Willow David, A pleasure to meet you
and thanks for being here. I'm just kind of curious
how things are going for you right now we're speaking
to you. You're in Philadelphia, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I am, I'm outside of Philadelphia. Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
What happened in your life that led to you where
you are today, and maybe some advice that you might
have for younger Americans who aspire to be what you
are or do what you do. So can we begin
with just a little bit about your background, Like, first
of all, can you just tell us where did you
grow up and what was that like in your childhood?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, yeah, I have a feeling it's kind of a
series of somewhat random events that led me to where
I am today. But so, just going back to childhood,
I grew up in a suburb of New York City
and Westchester County, kind of traditional middle class upbringing. What's
(00:59):
interesting and pert and my father and both grandfathers happened
to be dentists, so I kind of grew up around that.
My father told me, don't ever be a dentist, whatever
you do, which was kind of interesting advice.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Well, I'm just kind of curious why he said that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, it's interesting. He practiced the kind of his core
practice years were in the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and
he was kind of caught between the old what was
called drill and fill dentistry, where basically most of the
(01:41):
work was just filling cavities cleaning teeth, and then today
where it's the big money and most of the work
is around cosmetic dentistry, whether it be you know, implants
or caps or things that are much kind of higher
end than drill and fill, And he was at the
(02:01):
very kind of end of the drill and fill era
and at the beginning of the cosmetic area. So it
really dentistry was kind of in a i guess, a
bit of a valley during many of his peak practicing years,
and he never really got to the point where he
was doing cosmetic dentistry that we kind of most of
(02:22):
the dentists focus on today. So he was in a
little dentistry was not very glamorous going back to the
middle part even the latter part of the twentieth century,
so was everybody. Nobody likes to come see the dentist
it's not very uplifting. You should think about doing something else.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So here you are growing up in a suburb of
New York City and dad says, don't do what I do.
Don't be a dentist. What did you want to be
as a kid, do you recall?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, I wanted to be the shortstop for the Yankees,
and then Derek Jeter came along and kind of that
dream went down the tubes. So no, I wanted to
be in business. I was always fascinated, but much more
fascinated by business than kind of the medical area or
(03:13):
a legal area anything like that. So I I think
I had an aptitude for that. So I went to
College State University of New York at Albany, majored in accounting,
got out, worked for you know, one of the Big
eight back then it's now the Big Four. Got my CPA.
Was the worst job I ever had. I hated being
(03:35):
an editor. I went back to University of Chicago Business
School to get a degree in finance and marketing, and
that's where I kind of decided I really wanted to
be kind of in the i'll say it, the finance
slash marketing world.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So you and I share a few things in life.
Number One, my father was a lawyer and told me
at a young age, don't become a lawyer. And I
too wanted to play for the Yankees. I wanted to
be the second basement. So maybe you and I would
have been a good double play combo. I don't know
if that would have worked out or not, but I
am kind of curious. Was there an event or a
(04:12):
person or a mentor that you look back in your
life that had sort of a profound impact on you
in your direction?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, I would say it came a little bit later.
But when I was in business school, I was exposed
to a lot of different professions, whether it be corporate
finance or investment banking, emerging private equity, consulting, the McKenzies
(04:43):
of the world, and consumer products. And as I kind
of went through business school and we went to you know,
various lunch and learn sessions and things of that sort,
I just kind of gravitated to more tangible things that
and I just kind of fell in love at that
(05:03):
time with really consumer products. So that was probably, you know,
it probably evolved over a couple of years I was
in school, but that's and I'm not sure there was
one specific mentor, but that's kind of how I gravitated
to what I'm doing today.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So you fell in love with consumer products? Did you
always have in the back of your mind your goal
was to become a chief executive officer?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Probably? Yes. I started out working for General, the old
General Foods Company and my planes, and that was a
lot of fun working on some fun brands like Jello
and things of that sort. But along the way, I
worked with a lot of really smart people and decided
at that point, it's great being an analyst. I really
(05:53):
want to learn, but I really kind of had my
eye on the corner office at a I was probably
overly ambitious, but that decided, you know, that's really really
I wanted to be. So I I kind of progressed
along that path, you know, traditional route. I worked in
(06:13):
finance and marketing and went to several number of companies
as I kind of, you know, continue to learn. But
I got to the point kind of mid career, i'll
say about twenty years ago, where the corporate bureaucracy was
(06:34):
just something that was really bothering me. I felt like
I was becoming less and less impactful, having less influence
over the course of events, it was just too big
and too many layers, and that was kind of the
defining moment where I decided I wanted to go someplace
smaller where I could really kind of run the ship
(06:57):
as opposed to just you know, being at coggon will I.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Want to ask you a little bit about Willow in
a second and the new product that you have out there,
But before we do that, more of a macroeconomic question
for you, David, what what is your view right now
on the business climate in America and globally today. I mean,
as consumers, we are getting so many different messages from
(07:22):
so many different regions and areas in this economy. How
do you view it?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, long term, I'm very bullish in general. I think,
you know, the industry, industries continue to innovate, you know, AI,
you know, we'll see, but I think that's going to
you know, have a major impact on pretty much everybody's career,
and you know, hopefully in a good way. So I
(07:50):
think that this country and the world in general continue
to innovate, continue to make better products. So I'm bullish
in that regard. In the nearer term, I think the
uncertainty that is around the tariffs is certainly causing confusion pain.
(08:12):
I think in the long term that'll settle out. They
typically do, so I would say long term bullish, short term,
near term, I think it's a little bit uncertain and rocky.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
When you meet people, let's talk a little bit about Willow.
What do you tell them about the company? What do
you tell them about what you do for a living.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Our company goal is to change the scope of oral
care for kids in the country and ultimately the world.
What we like to say is the number one disease
in the world, certainly in the US, is periodontal disease.
You know, it's not a killer per se, but it's
(08:58):
the number one disease. Over fifty percent of all adults
have it. Among kids, the number one disease state is cavities.
Half of kids by the time they're six or seven
have a cavity that leads to problems down the line
beyond just the baby teeth. So our mantra is that
(09:19):
kids won't, don't and can't brush. They don't have the patience,
they don't have the dexterity or the knowledge of exactly
how to brush and fun and none. They don't like it,
so they won't do it, so that Willow exists to
make rushing easy and fun for kids, so they'll do it.
(09:44):
Any toothbrush if a kid knows how to brush, is motivated,
takes the right time, will work fine. But they don't.
So Willo exists to improve kids oral health plan int
simple by making it simple and fun.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And Willow has a new product called Brushbot. I'm just
kind of curious of what do you tell parents? What
does it do? Why are you excited about it?
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah? The way to think about Brushbot and the autoflow
because they're fundamentally similar. One automatically injects and evacuates the toothpaste,
but the brushhead motion is the same. It makes the
child independent. They can do it without supervision. All they
have to do is put it in their mouth and
push a button, so it provides independence. We have an
(10:34):
app that's gamified so it becomes fun. It's something they
can do independently and something they're going to brush perfectly
every time for two minutes. The analogy that we use
is that it's a little bit like a car wash
for your teeth. If you're familiar with the car wash,
all you have to do is get your tires in
(10:54):
the groove and then they push a button and your
cars washed perfectly every time. That's really what is. As
long as you put your teeth in the mouthpiece, you
push a button, it's going to brush your teeth perfectly
every time. Two minutes. The average child probably brushes about
twenty seconds. They brush their front teeth. They don't brush
the backside of their teeth. They don't brush their back teeth.
(11:16):
So this does it in a fun and a complete way.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
David here and I heard we call this segment CEOs
you should know, so I'm just kind of curious. My
final question for you is this, is there anything for
folks who are listening to this that you would like
them to know about yourself or your company that we
haven't touched upon.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, I would just say about the company. What we've learned.
I've learned is approximately thirty percent of all children have
some sort of what we call neurodiversity, whether they're add
they have sensory issues, autism down syndrome. Those kids are
particularly problematic brushing their teeth often have to be sedated
(12:01):
when they go to the NNAs twice a year for
deep cleaning because they just simply don't brush, So for
all children, we're providing a really great solution. It will
help them eliminate cavities. For about a third of the population,
it's literally a lifesaver, and we are getting many, many
reviews feedback from parents that are in tears about their child,
(12:24):
you know, finally for the first time brushing their teeth.
So I never thought a toothbrush would bring a parent
to tears, But if among all the populations, that's the
one that's I think the most part.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
We're working terrific. That's just great. David Fox, chief executive
officer of Willow David, thanks a lot for your time.
Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, my pleasure.
Joining us right now is David Fox. He's the chief
executive officer of Willow David, A pleasure to meet you
and thanks for being here. I'm just kind of curious
how things are going for you right now we're speaking
to you. You're in Philadelphia, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I am, I'm outside of Philadelphia. Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
What happened in your life that led to you where
you are today, and maybe some advice that you might
have for younger Americans who aspire to be what you
are or do what you do. So can we begin
with just a little bit about your background, Like, first
of all, can you just tell us where did you
grow up and what was that like in your childhood?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, yeah, I have a feeling it's kind of a
series of somewhat random events that led me to where
I am today. But so, just going back to childhood,
I grew up in a suburb of New York City
and Westchester County, kind of traditional middle class upbringing. What's
(00:59):
interesting and pert and my father and both grandfathers happened
to be dentists, so I kind of grew up around that.
My father told me, don't ever be a dentist, whatever
you do, which was kind of interesting advice.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Well, I'm just kind of curious why he said that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, it's interesting. He practiced the kind of his core
practice years were in the sixties, seventies, and eighties, and
he was kind of caught between the old what was
called drill and fill dentistry, where basically most of the
(01:41):
work was just filling cavities cleaning teeth, and then today
where it's the big money and most of the work
is around cosmetic dentistry, whether it be you know, implants
or caps or things that are much kind of higher
end than drill and fill, And he was at the
(02:01):
very kind of end of the drill and fill era
and at the beginning of the cosmetic area. So it
really dentistry was kind of in a i guess, a
bit of a valley during many of his peak practicing years,
and he never really got to the point where he
was doing cosmetic dentistry that we kind of most of
(02:22):
the dentists focus on today. So he was in a
little dentistry was not very glamorous going back to the
middle part even the latter part of the twentieth century,
so was everybody. Nobody likes to come see the dentist
it's not very uplifting. You should think about doing something else.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So here you are growing up in a suburb of
New York City and dad says, don't do what I do.
Don't be a dentist. What did you want to be
as a kid, do you recall?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, I wanted to be the shortstop for the Yankees,
and then Derek Jeter came along and kind of that
dream went down the tubes. So no, I wanted to
be in business. I was always fascinated, but much more
fascinated by business than kind of the medical area or
(03:13):
a legal area anything like that. So I I think
I had an aptitude for that. So I went to
College State University of New York at Albany, majored in accounting,
got out, worked for you know, one of the Big
eight back then it's now the Big Four. Got my CPA.
Was the worst job I ever had. I hated being
(03:35):
an editor. I went back to University of Chicago Business
School to get a degree in finance and marketing, and
that's where I kind of decided I really wanted to
be kind of in the i'll say it, the finance
slash marketing world.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So you and I share a few things in life.
Number One, my father was a lawyer and told me
at a young age, don't become a lawyer. And I
too wanted to play for the Yankees. I wanted to
be the second basement. So maybe you and I would
have been a good double play combo. I don't know
if that would have worked out or not, but I
am kind of curious. Was there an event or a
(04:12):
person or a mentor that you look back in your
life that had sort of a profound impact on you
in your direction?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, I would say it came a little bit later.
But when I was in business school, I was exposed
to a lot of different professions, whether it be corporate
finance or investment banking, emerging private equity, consulting, the McKenzies
(04:43):
of the world, and consumer products. And as I kind
of went through business school and we went to you know,
various lunch and learn sessions and things of that sort,
I just kind of gravitated to more tangible things that
and I just kind of fell in love at that
(05:03):
time with really consumer products. So that was probably, you know,
it probably evolved over a couple of years I was
in school, but that's and I'm not sure there was
one specific mentor, but that's kind of how I gravitated
to what I'm doing today.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So you fell in love with consumer products? Did you
always have in the back of your mind your goal
was to become a chief executive officer?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Probably? Yes. I started out working for General, the old
General Foods Company and my planes, and that was a
lot of fun working on some fun brands like Jello
and things of that sort. But along the way, I
worked with a lot of really smart people and decided
at that point, it's great being an analyst. I really
(05:53):
want to learn, but I really kind of had my
eye on the corner office at a I was probably
overly ambitious, but that decided, you know, that's really really
I wanted to be. So I I kind of progressed
along that path, you know, traditional route. I worked in
(06:13):
finance and marketing and went to several number of companies
as I kind of, you know, continue to learn. But
I got to the point kind of mid career, i'll
say about twenty years ago, where the corporate bureaucracy was
(06:34):
just something that was really bothering me. I felt like
I was becoming less and less impactful, having less influence
over the course of events, it was just too big
and too many layers, and that was kind of the
defining moment where I decided I wanted to go someplace
smaller where I could really kind of run the ship
(06:57):
as opposed to just you know, being at coggon will I.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Want to ask you a little bit about Willow in
a second and the new product that you have out there,
But before we do that, more of a macroeconomic question
for you, David, what what is your view right now
on the business climate in America and globally today. I mean,
as consumers, we are getting so many different messages from
(07:22):
so many different regions and areas in this economy. How
do you view it?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, long term, I'm very bullish in general. I think,
you know, the industry, industries continue to innovate, you know, AI,
you know, we'll see, but I think that's going to
you know, have a major impact on pretty much everybody's career,
and you know, hopefully in a good way. So I
(07:50):
think that this country and the world in general continue
to innovate, continue to make better products. So I'm bullish
in that regard. In the nearer term, I think the
uncertainty that is around the tariffs is certainly causing confusion pain.
(08:12):
I think in the long term that'll settle out. They
typically do, so I would say long term bullish, short term,
near term, I think it's a little bit uncertain and rocky.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
When you meet people, let's talk a little bit about Willow.
What do you tell them about the company? What do
you tell them about what you do for a living.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Our company goal is to change the scope of oral
care for kids in the country and ultimately the world.
What we like to say is the number one disease
in the world, certainly in the US, is periodontal disease.
You know, it's not a killer per se, but it's
(08:58):
the number one disease. Over fifty percent of all adults
have it. Among kids, the number one disease state is cavities.
Half of kids by the time they're six or seven
have a cavity that leads to problems down the line
beyond just the baby teeth. So our mantra is that
(09:19):
kids won't, don't and can't brush. They don't have the patience,
they don't have the dexterity or the knowledge of exactly
how to brush and fun and none. They don't like it,
so they won't do it, so that Willow exists to
make rushing easy and fun for kids, so they'll do it.
(09:44):
Any toothbrush if a kid knows how to brush, is motivated,
takes the right time, will work fine. But they don't.
So Willo exists to improve kids oral health plan int
simple by making it simple and fun.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And Willow has a new product called Brushbot. I'm just
kind of curious of what do you tell parents? What
does it do? Why are you excited about it?
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah? The way to think about Brushbot and the autoflow
because they're fundamentally similar. One automatically injects and evacuates the toothpaste,
but the brushhead motion is the same. It makes the
child independent. They can do it without supervision. All they
have to do is put it in their mouth and
push a button, so it provides independence. We have an
(10:34):
app that's gamified so it becomes fun. It's something they
can do independently and something they're going to brush perfectly
every time for two minutes. The analogy that we use
is that it's a little bit like a car wash
for your teeth. If you're familiar with the car wash,
all you have to do is get your tires in
(10:54):
the groove and then they push a button and your
cars washed perfectly every time. That's really what is. As
long as you put your teeth in the mouthpiece, you
push a button, it's going to brush your teeth perfectly
every time. Two minutes. The average child probably brushes about
twenty seconds. They brush their front teeth. They don't brush
the backside of their teeth. They don't brush their back teeth.
(11:16):
So this does it in a fun and a complete way.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
David here and I heard we call this segment CEOs
you should know, so I'm just kind of curious. My
final question for you is this, is there anything for
folks who are listening to this that you would like
them to know about yourself or your company that we
haven't touched upon.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, I would just say about the company. What we've learned.
I've learned is approximately thirty percent of all children have
some sort of what we call neurodiversity, whether they're add
they have sensory issues, autism down syndrome. Those kids are
particularly problematic brushing their teeth often have to be sedated
(12:01):
when they go to the NNAs twice a year for
deep cleaning because they just simply don't brush, So for
all children, we're providing a really great solution. It will
help them eliminate cavities. For about a third of the population,
it's literally a lifesaver, and we are getting many, many
reviews feedback from parents that are in tears about their child,
(12:24):
you know, finally for the first time brushing their teeth.
So I never thought a toothbrush would bring a parent
to tears, But if among all the populations, that's the
one that's I think the most part.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
We're working terrific. That's just great. David Fox, chief executive
officer of Willow David, thanks a lot for your time.
Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, my pleasure.
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