An exclusive interview with J. Morton Davis

The Digital Pioneers Network and Telegraf.rs shared the same vision when they’ve created “The Digital Economy Explained” series: to design an ideal setting where they’ll tackle the latest industry developments with the world’s leading AI, digitalization and business leaders. In the new episode of their exclusive video interviews, a team of experts engaged in a dialogue with a true legend of investment banking, J. Morton Davis, owner and chairman of D. H. Blair Investment Banking Corp, a New York City investment bank established in 1904.

As an investment banker, entrepreneur, investment analyst, economist, and venture capitalist, Mr. Davis is Wall Street personified. The over 400 companies, for which he has raised more than $3 billion throughout the years, have created a countless number of jobs and added exciting new products, including breakthrough drugs, unique electronic, and telecommunications products, that resulted in immeasurable productivity to the American economy. A few people on Wall Street possess his rare brand of financial expertise - and fewer are still as successful.

In the midst of a global pandemic, Mr. Davis offers a sound advice on how to navigate through these challenging times and strengthen resilience in the face of the unexpected. Digital Pioneers that engaged with Mr. Davis in this exciting discussion were AI expert and a global digital cognitive strategist Mark Minevich, Gen Z digitalization expert Angelica Sirotin, and the European strategic communications and media expert in the tech space Andjelina Petrovic, representing Comtrade Group.

As he shared his inspirational life story, from a rocky childhood in Brooklyn to landing his first job at Shields as a broker, Mr. Davis reveals his keys to success, underlying the importance of education, hard work, and discipline.

- The first thing I would advise all young people is to get role models and see how they do it. Imitate them and get the best education you can. Even if you start late like I did, it’s never too late. And don’t be afraid of failure – be entrepreneurial - said Mr. Davis.

Talking about the young people and Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2010), recognized as the first true generation of digital natives, Mr. Davis shared his views on this generation’s mindset of sustainability, transparency, responsibility and ethics, as well as how this will impact the hybrid workforce – once that combines biology with AI. Mr. Davis pointed out that Gen Z “cares about the things that matter”, and that, for this very reason, they’ll “improve the nature of life with their good aspirations and goals”.

When asked about his favorite quote, Mr. Davis said: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Still, as he was involved in the development of a lot of companies, he argues that social impact should matter the most as an end goal, as opposed to the economic growth and bigger profits.

“Instead of focusing on GDP all the time, I want to focus on GHP: Gross Happiness Product”, stated Mr. Davis, and later added:  “We should work towards a perfect union. We’re far from perfect. That should be our aspiration. It doesn’t say ‘Life, Liberty and Profit’, or ‘Life, Liberty and GDP growth’. It says ‘Life, Liberty and Happiness’. We have to have a way to have the most people happy.”

Mr. Davis also published a book in 2018 for all those who want to enrich their future and move ahead in life, called “Happiness Guaranteed or Your Misery Back”, where he dives deep into this topic of finding the way to everlasting happiness and fulfillment (hint: focusing only on making more money won’t get you there).

Regarding our future digital economy and AI, Mr. Davis gives us recommendations on how we can succeed in the new digital world, reminding us that the future is all-inclusive and that technology should focus on caring for the people and providing them with the useful economic and social benefits.

As a leading investor and advisor to emerging growth companies, Mr. Davis brought many of them public and created thousands of new jobs by funding them. He shared with the audience what advantages start-ups have in this digital age, what makes a start-up eligible for funding, how does he spot small companies that’ll grow, as well as how he sees the future of work. The amazing insights and guidance that he offered are extremely useful in the current global situation - and in life overall.

The interview with Mr. Davies reminds us that we should strive for our highest ideals and that AI can helps us in achieving them, while it accelerates the human growth: “I did well while I was doing good – and that was the most rewarding part of my life”.

Don’t miss your chance to be inspired by the legendary investment guru! Check out the full episode in the video at the top of the article.

(Telegraf.rs)