Richard Davis on executive leadership
From Richard Davis | Make-A-Wish America President & CEO · · Andrew Moses
“I became CEO at 48 and I said then it wasn't 10 years later. I said then I should serve no longer than 10 years if to the board you're willing to have me. Why not? They said I said because I don't think anybody should run anything for longer than 10 years.”
On , Richard Davis, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Bancorp, spoke about executive leadership during Richard Davis | Make-A-Wish America President & CEO on Andrew Moses.
About Richard Davis
Richard Davis, former chairman and CEO of U.S. Bank, became president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America in 2019. In podcast appearances, Davis said he retired from U.S. Bank "on purpose on time with no plans on where I would go" and described his move to the nonprofit as something he had long wanted to do. He stated he believes "no good CEO should last longer than 10" years, adding that he led the bank for 11 years only because "it took us a little longer." Davis has discussed his leadership philosophy, advising people to "set a direction, never goals" and to "never set a goal just set a direction so that it's not limiting." He said that "putting your hand up to do something demonstrates curiosity" and that doing it well "demonstrates competency." Davis currently serves on the boards of Mastercard, Mayo Clinic, Dow Chemical, Wells Fargo, the Cargill Foundation, the Twin Cities YMCA, and Scholars of Finance.