John Davis (entrepreneur)
| John Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | John F. Davis III 1953 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | John F. Davis, John Davis III |
| Alma mater | Texas Christian University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Former Chairman and CEO of Pegasus Solutions Inc |
| Board member of | TRX Inc, Texas Christian University |
John F. Davis III (b.1953) is a millionaire entrepreneur and is the former chairman and CEO of Pegasus Solutions Inc. Davis is considered a visionary of hotel technology by many.[citation needed] He is currently CEO of BirchStreet Systems, Inc. BirchStreet Systems is a hospitality-focused procure-to-pay software as a service (SaaS) company out of Newport Beach, California.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Davis attended Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the oldest of five siblings. He graduated Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas and began his business-career in 1978 when he served as president of Mid-South Drilling Co. He is married to interior decorator Leah Davis, and has three sons, Beau (John F. Davis IV), Drew and Josh.
[edit] Career
[edit] 1-800-Flowers
In 1982 Davis and business partner Jim Poage took ownership of 1-800-Flowers, a toll-free ordering system for the floral industry. It was in this company where Davis built up his business experience.[2]
[edit] ATC Communications and Pegasus
Davis sold 1-800-Flowers and founded ATC Communications and in 1989, he launched the Pegasus Electronic Distribution Switch technology, a system created to link central reservation systems for hotels with major global airline distribution systems.
In growing Pegasus, Davis had to get participation from some of the world's largest hotel chains, many of which were arch rivals. His ability to get these companies to see beyond competitive issues, grasp how automation and technology could serve the industry as a whole was, observers say, paramount to Pegasus' initial success.[citation needed]
Pegasus followed this model again in successfully launching Hotel Clearing Corporation which has become the leading processor of travel agent and other commissions across hotel companies.
"I believe in delegating and I want to make sure that everyone (in the company) has the tools they need to be successful."
In 2000, he led Pegasus' acquisition of REZsolutions Inc., a marketing and reservation provider in the hotel industry. As a result of the acquisition, Pegasus grew from 150 employees to 1,500 employees in 11 countries.".
Pegasus went public in a very successful initial public offering (IPO) in 1998. The company positioned itself as an electronic commerce company and saw its valuation soar to several times the original offering price. The stock fell during the dotcom bust back close to the original IPO price. In 2007, the company was taken private by a Boston based private equity firm Prides Capital.[3]
On June 11, 2008 Davis left Pegasus 'to pursue other opportunities', effective immediately.
As of Nov. 10, 2008, Davis is CEO for Birch Street Systems.
[edit] Other activities
Davis serves on the board TRX Inc. and on the board of trustees of Texas Christian University.
[edit] References
- ^ Bush, Melinda (June 3, 2009). "Davis Goes Back to BirchStreet". Lodging Hospitality Online. http://lhonline.com/technology/software/davis_birchstreet_0603/. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ Hall, Cheryl (January 8, 2005). "1-800-FLOWERS heartbreak sent entrepreneur to hotels". Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/all/stories/010905chall.2cf8f.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Pegasus Solutions, Inc. to be Acquired by an Equity Group Led by Prides Capital Partners, LLC". 19 December 2005. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4025704.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
