Davis Smith
- Senior Fellow
-
Office location
-
Horchow Hall
55 Hillhouse Avenue
About
Davis Smith is the founder and CEO of Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear and active lifestyle brand with a social mission at its core. The brand creates products and experiences that fund sustainable poverty alleviation — the first company to incorporate from inception as a Benefit Corporation and raise venture capital.
Prior to starting Cotopaxi, Smith was the founder and co-CEO of Baby.com.br and Dinda.com.br, Brazil’s Startup of the Year in 2012, which raised over $40 million in venture capital. The business also won the Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest. In 2004, Smith founded, and later sold, PoolTables.com, America’s largest pool table retailer.
Smith is a lover of cultures, languages and adventure. He has camped in the Sahara, floated down the Amazon, explored North Korea, backpacked through South America and, most recently, co-led the first successful crossing from Cuba to Florida via kayak.
Education
- MBA, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School
- MA in International Affairs, University of Pennsylvania
- BA in International Studies, Brigham Young University