EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Gary Davis
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gary Davis is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. He is the Executive Director of the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA) and a member of the Forbes Finance Council.
Before being appointed as Executive Director of NAFSA, Mr. Davis served as President and CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) and as a member of the NCAIED’s Board of Directors. He has served as Vice-President of Native Affairs for the Triple Five Group, owners of the world’s largest retail shopping malls; the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall and he previously served as co-chair of the National Indian Gaming Association’s, American Indian Business Network.
More About Gary Davis
Mr. Davis is Publisher of Native Business™ Magazine, CEO of Davis Strategy Group and has facilitated an array of cross sector business opportunities in Indian Country ranging from acquisitions, casino gaming, hospitality, land development, green energy and pharmaceutical initiatives. His entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in several other family owned and operated businesses including Native Style® Clothing and Red Vinyl Records. Mr. Davis is also a successful musician and feature film and television actor with eight award winning albums and starring roles in such major motion pictures as, The Indian in The Cupboard and television programs such as, House of Cards.
Philanthropically, he has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles throughout the United States bringing hope and empowerment to over 450 American Indian communities. Mr. Davis continues to motivate and inspire, tribal, educational and corporate audiences as a highly sought after public speaker and has lectured at various colleges and universities including, Virginia Tech and Oregon State University.
Mr. Davis is a recipient of the Sevenstar Award from the Cherokee Nation Historical Society. He has received the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency National Director Special Recognition Award, was appointed an Ambassador of the Department of Energy’s, Minorities in Energy initiative and was also appointed to the United States Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities. Mr. Davis was recognized as one of the “Fifty Faces of Indian Country” by Indian Country Today Media Network.
For over two decades, Mr. Davis has meshed his success as an entrepreneur, with his passion to better the future of Indian Country and his array of accomplishments serve as a source of inspiration for Native people across North America.