About Paul Davis

Paul Davis

I've been a journalist for most of my professional career, covering a variety of topics ranging from financial services and sports to real estate and entertainment. I was honored twice by the N.C. Press Association, receiving recognition for my reporting on hybrid cars and growing issues with foreclosed homes.

I have had the opportunity to interact with CEOs, economists and a number of other interesting people, including John Grisham, Steve Forbes, Charles Schwab, pro golfers Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy and the founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. 

As a journalist/editor at American Banker since 2005, I also speak regularly on financial services issues, and have been interviewed by Investor's Business Daily, BBC World News and PBS. I have also moderated panels for the American Bankers Association and appear regularly at the University of Mississippi's Banking Symposium.

When everything went haywire during the 2008 financial crisis, I became acutely aware of how sensitive my job was to the economy. So I decided, with some encouragement, that it was important to go back to school after a lengthy break to supplement my practical experience with more education. 

A Discussion with John Grisham

I enrolled at Wake Forest's School of Business. Steve Reinemund, the school's dean and a former chairman and CEO at PepsiCo, also hired me to developed and implement the program's first comprehensive social media platform. 

I created a blog run by students, with an goal of producing an believable product that had autonomy from the university's marketing department. It took time, but I recruited a dozen students from various business school programs to spearhead the project in 2009.

The social media platform quickly exceeded  expectations, engaging the student population and amassing more than 70,000 page views in its first three years. Our Twitter feed was recognized by TopMBA.com as one that MBA candidates needed to follow. And it provided me with opportunities and insights that went well beyond what I gained from my time at Wake Forest as a student.


Wake Forest acquired the social media platform in 2012, at which point I needed a new project to keep me busy. So I created MBAConnections, a blog designed to examine various experiences through the eyes of a business school graduate. 

The founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

My objective is to help anyone interested in business to realize that lessons in operations, finance and marketing are all around us. We should always seek out ways to examine everyday experiences, and I relish any opportunity to review and build upon my past coursework with quirky, offbeat topics.