Meet the man from Mobile!
If you’ve ever spent ‘5 Minutes With’ Chuck Davis then you already know he’s from Alabama by his Southern twang.
But he is still a man of mystery– Did you know he used to be a test pilot?! (You HAVE to check out his answers below and see the picture for yourself!) He’s also an avid sailor with some solo trips under his belt.
When you spend 5 minutes with Chuck you always walk away feeling a little bit better. Keep reading to learn more about him and maybe you’ll discover your next hobby!
What’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why?
Montana and Wyoming. My wife and I found “Yellowstone” about their last season and binge-watched the entire series. Neither of us has been, and the scenery is gorgeous. Despite a significant amount of time in Europe and multiple trips to the Caribbean, there are still parts of the US that neither my wife nor I have seen. When she announced she wanted to go next year, my immediate response was “OK.”
Would you rather- sleep in or get up early on the weekends?
My “Sleeping in” is up at 7:30 AM. There is always something to do.
Do you have any special skills?
I have been a test pilot. I have a sport pilot license and once registered an experimental airplane (N7057K) here. Among other things, that meant I flew the required test flights and documented the flight envelope. Experimental test flight programs are where the phrase “pushing the envelope” originates.
I also sail and have crossed the open ocean between islands in the Caribbean. Three times I’ve sailed between New York and the Chesapeake, around Cape May and through the Delaware Bay (or vice versa.) Two of those times singlehanded.
What’s your go-to midnight snack?
I actually don’t eat late. We say my “comfort food” is a dish my wife makes called “Tomato Choka and Roti.” It’s outrageously good, especially when she makes the roti bread from scratch herself. Here’s a link to the recipe.
What’s the career highlight you’re most proud of?
Returning everyone on my team home safely after Desert Storm. During my civilian career, I ran several large projects, but you always remember your first! I designed and built the platform that one of Wall Street’s top banks uses to process the most complex and difficult trades – the ones that melted down the economy in 2007! We delivered it in 2001 and they still use it. I also learned the power of small, energized teams.
Several other efforts to build this type of system with large 20-40 person teams had failed. We did it with 4 (plus our developers), and I’ve always maintained we succeeded because we kept it small, not in spite of being small. This effort was how I became a project manager.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received? How did that help you?
“Some situations are not winnable.” I heard that from a few people, including my 2nd company commander when I was a young Army LT. He was smart and went on to retire as a 3-star General. Over time, I learned to recognize those situations. This insight gave me the courage to walk away from one, which eventually led me to Greencastle. One of the reasons I appreciate the Greencastle culture like I do is the contrast to prior bad experiences.
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