Kathy Davis

Katherine L. Davis (born June 24, 1956) is an American politician and entrepreneur. She was the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, and the first woman to serve in that office.

Early life and education

Davis was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978. Her professional career started out with Cambridge Collaborative, a research and development consulting firm owned by her father. She was an acoustics consultant where she analyzed vibrations in submarines. She attributes her experiences at the firm as her inspiration for much of her present career. She earned her master's degree from Harvard Business School and relocated to Indiana in 1982. After moving to Indiana, she went to work for the Cummins Engine Company where she spent several years leading their manufacturing operations.

Political career

Davis attributes her work in the private sector to landing her first position in the public sector. She was appointed by former Indiana Governor Evan Bayh as the Deputy Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. She served in the position from 1989 to 1994 where she oversaw the transportation plans of the state.

Davis was appointed as the State of Indiana Budget Director by Governor Bayh in 1995. She was in charge of the state's $10 billion budget before being appointed by then Governor Frank O'Bannon to the position of Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration. While in this position, she was in charge of a $4 billion budget as well as more than 11,000 employees. During her time with the administration she oversaw the transition away from large facilities for MRDD and MI populations to more community based facilities. She left public service for a short time in 1998 but returned a short time later to run the public service agency for the Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. She was credited with obtaining more than $21 million in contracts within five months in the position. Davis received another appointment in 2000 when former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson made her the Controller for the City of Indianapolis where she served for four years.

Davis' was appointed as Lt. Governor in 2003 following the death of Governor O'Bannon. She was appointed by then Indiana Governor Joe Kernan as the 48th Lieutenant Governor for the State of Indiana. As Lieutenant Governor, she was the first woman to ever hold such position in the State of Indiana. During her time in office, she served as President of the Indiana State Senate, Commissioner of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce and chaired the Indiana Counter Terrorism and Security Council.

Return to private sector

Davis left the public sector again in 2005 at the end of the Kernan-Davis term. She took a position as the Chief Executive Officer of Global Access Point, a computer network connectivity company headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. She led the start-up of the company where she was in charge of developing markets in data transport, data processing, and data storage for business, health care organizations, and universities.

In 2006, Davis developed the idea for a virtual way to allow policy makers to develop complex policies. The program was initially developed by Simulex and then used by the United States Military. Fortune 500 companies also used the technology to select stereotypes for building outcomes. Davis founded Davis Design Group in 2007 as a way to determine results of long-term decisions made by lawmakers. The company uses a system called the Simulated Educational Experience (SEE) to predict the future of the educational system. The system is said to predict how decisions made in the public sector regarding education will affect students in the future.

Return to politics and government

Davis took a position as campaign treasurer for Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly, but resigned in August 2015 because of Donnelly's vote to defund Planned Parenthood. She later took a job in a then-yet to be defined role in Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett's administration, initially described as "city systems engineer".