The Greater Washington area has a long history of influential business leaders powering the growth of our region and the strength of their communities. On November 20, the Washington Business Hall of Fame will welcome four such leaders to receive our region’s signature lifetime business achievement award. The Hall of Fame brings these visionaries (the best in business) to the table with the next generation of leaders (the next in business), through an experience that connects and inspires us all.
The 2024 Hall of Fame Laureates are no strangers to media coverage. If you live in the Washington region, chances are you’ve seen their names in headlines for years. What you may not have witnessed is these trailblazers telling their stories in their own words. That’s what this series brings you – the insights, lessons and life advice that these Laureates have to offer based on a lifetime of success.
Washington’s best in business:
NATE DAVIS
From his first presidential role of a public company at XO Communications to leveraging technology to make quality education broadly available at Stride Learning Inc., Nate Davis shares how leading with compassion and mastering the art of risk-taking informed his professional development.
Read the full Q&A to get to know Nate – a leading influencer in the education technology industry and one of this year’s Laureates.
Nate davis
Retired chairman and ceo
Did you have a mentor over the course of your career? If so, who was it, and how did they impact your career trajectory?
Nate Davis: I have had many great role models and mentors over my entire career, and I hate to not recognize all of them. If I have to pick one as the most impactful, however, it would be Dan Akerson. Dan has been a mentor, role model, big brother and friend, all wrapped into one. He helped me achieve the role of Chief Financial Officer of the domestic MCI business and my first president role of a public company. Dan taught me many lessons. They include how to apply the saying ‘you get better results from what you inspect, not from what you expect,’ how to balance tough leadership with compassion to others, and to always do the right thing for all stakeholders – shareholders, debtors, employees, customers and regulators. He also taught me to bet on myself: don’t be afraid to take risks to achieve better results. If you deliver the results, you can be rewarded. I became an executive because Dan gave me multiple chances to prove myself at the executive level. I hope I’ve paid it forward by helping others achieve their goals.
“[Dan] also taught me to bet on myself: don’t be afraid to take risks to achieve better results. If you deliver the results, you can be rewarded. I became an executive because Dan gave me multiple chances to prove myself at the executive level. I hope I’ve paid it forward by helping others achieve their goals.”
What is the hardest job you have ever done? What made it so difficult?
Nate Davis: My most challenging job was restructuring the culture of an organization. The organization had complicated relationships with state departments of education, students, parents, teachers, regulators and policymakers. Those relationships were not built on trust nor on working toward great outcomes for our students. To deliver better results for our students, I needed to revamp the way everyone thought of the company, including our own employees. That meant changing our culture and changing the perception of our company. This work needed to be done at all levels of the organization: from the Board of Directors and executive management to all the hardworking employees.
What is one thing you want the Greater Washington business community to know about your company?
Nate Davis: I’d love for the Washington community to know that Stride leads its industry in innovation of how to deliver high-quality education to students and families seeking to solve their individual educational challenges. We have developed the most innovative student information systems, learning management systems, comprehensive curriculum and well-trained online teacher workforce in the world. We help students from kindergarten through 12th grade discover and love learning. We also train adults in fields like software engineering, IT services, healthcare fields and business. We do this across more than 75% of the states in the U.S. and with students around the world. I am most proud of the students who, despite facing tremendous personal challenges, succeed through it all and graduate from our program.
If you could choose one person to have dinner with, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Nate Davis: That one person would be my father. He was my biggest role model and he passed away when I was young, but his influence on me and my values was permanent. I would love to have dinner with him along with my kids, my grandkids and my family to discuss how he grew up and helped shape the world they now live in. I’d love for them to hear his stories and understand their heritage. I would love for them to see how his life shaped my views, and subsequently, how my views have shaped their world. Charles Barkley once said, “I am not your role model, your parents are your role model.” Nothing could be more true for me. While folks like Bill Russell and Barack Obama are heroes to me, the most important hero was my father, who sacrificed so much for me.
“While folks like Bill Russell and Barack Obama are heroes to me, the most important hero was my father, who sacrificed so much for me.”
The global pandemic has caused young people to reconsider the connection between their education and the uncertain future. What should students be doing today to help prepare them for a successful tomorrow?
Nate Davis: The first thing students should do is be honest with themselves about their goals versus their skills. Today’s youth have many ways to succeed. College is not the only path to success. Whether they start and own a business, work toward a degree or go to a training program for a specific skill, there are so many ways to achieve success. But that starts with knowing yourself, knowing what you want and working to improve your skills. Young people also should not be afraid to make a career decision that may not be right for them long-term. That’s part of the learning process. Near-term decisions can help us learn about what we want long-term. It’s ok to try something, find out it’s not what we want and then try something different. You learn from every experience, so gain as many experiences as you can while you are young to help you in the long-term.
“Today’s youth have many ways to succeed. College is not the only path to success. Whether they start and own a business, work toward a degree or go to a training program for a specific skill, there are so many ways to achieve success. But that starts with knowing yourself, knowing what you want and working to improve your skills. ”
You’re invited to support Nate Davis’ induction into the Washington Business Hall of Fame. All proceeds benefit Junior Achievement of Greater Washington’s work to prepare local students to be ready for the future.