Dayton Ogden joined Spencer Stuart in 1979 and three years later became manager of the firm's New York and Stamford offices.

In 1987, at the age of 42, he was elected chief executive of the firm and in 1993 became the first CEO in the firm's history to be re-elected to a third term. He served as chairman of the firm from 2003 to 2006, having served as joint chairman for the previous four years. He is currently a member of the Board Services and Industrial practices.

Dayton's search consulting practice focuses on senior executive and board recruiting for a broad range of international clients. He is a frequent commentator on key trends and issues affecting CEOs and boards, both in the U.S. and internationally. He serves on the board of the American Business Conference, an organization that includes the CEOs of emerging growth companies. He is also secretary and a director of Project HOPE, a leading healthcare foundation based in Washington, D.C. He has just completed seven years of board service with Advanced Tissue Sciences, a NASDAQ bio-tech company. In 2000, Oxford University Press published a book entitled CEO Succession, which Dayton co-authored.

Before joining Spencer Stuart, Dayton was a principal of an executive search firm located in Washington, D.C. Previously, his military career included two years as gunnery officer on a U.S. Navy destroyer followed by a tour in Vietnam, where he served with distinction as officer in charge of a river patrol boat in the Mekong Delta. Dayton is a graduate of Yale University.