Nicholas Davis

AIEI Board of Advisors; Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University

Nicholas Davis is a professor of practice at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University; special advisor at Innovation at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and a managing partner at SWIFT Partners, a Geneva-based consultancy focused on helping companies harness emerging technologies to create sustainable value. 

From 2015 to 2019, he was head of society and innovation and a member of the executive committee at the World Economic Forum. Davis led the forum's thought-leadership on the concept of "The Fourth Industrial Revolution," oversaw engagement with civil society communities, and managed teams across the information technology, telecoms, and media industries. With Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, he is the co-author of Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution, published in January 2018. Davis is originally from Sydney, and was previously a commercial lawyer as well as director at Oxford Investment Research and the World Economic Forum's Head of Europe.

He is a certified professional facilitator and a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA) in the UK. He is currently a visiting professor at UCL's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy;  an associate fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; an adjunct professor at Swinburne University; and a member of the board of the IMPROVE European Innovation Management Academy. Davis holds degrees in arts and law from the University of Sydney as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Oxford.

Featured Work

MAY 25, 2022 Article

Digital Platforms & Democracy: Opportunities to Evolve Together

Social technologies, digital transformation, and related trends are often pitted against democracy. Nicholas Davis argues that there are opportunities for democracy and digital platforms to ...

JUL 29, 2021 Podcast

Artificial Intelligence, Justice, & the Rule of Law

In this episode of the "Artificial Intelligence & Equality" podcast, Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen is joined by Thunderbird School of Global Management's Nicholas Davis and University ...