Global Advisory Board

Martin Davis is executive vice president of Southern Company Services and chief information officer of Southern Company, one of America’s most respected companies and a leading producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy serving more than 9 million customers. Davis leads more than 2,000 technology professionals, supporting Southern Company’s subsidiaries.

Davis has spent over 30 years leading complex technology organizations in highly regulated environments. He served as head of enterprise information technology, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Wells Fargo. He was instrumental in the financial institution’s integration of Wachovia, leading the largest technology integration in the history of U.S. financial services. Davis has served in a wide range of technology leadership roles, including serving as Wachovia’s chief information officer.

Davis formerly served on the board of trustees at Winston-Salem State University. He currently serves on the American Heart Association’s Mid-Atlantic region board and the South State Corporation board of directors. He has been recognized as one of the “50 Most Important AfricanAmericans in Technology” by U.S. Black Engineers & Information Technology magazine and one of the “75 Most Powerful AfricanAmericans in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise. Most recently, Davis was featured in Savoy Magazine’s “2018 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America”.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winston-Salem State University and is a graduate of the Young Executives Institute and the Wachovia Executive Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

For more than a century Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO), has been building the future of energy and developing the full portfolio of energy resources. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation and a low-carbon future, Southern Company and its subsidiaries develop the customized energy solutions our customers and communities require to drive growth and prosperity. 

Southern Company has been recognized as one of the 100 “Best Places to Work in IT” by IDG’s Computerworld for 13 consecutive years and top “50 Best Companies for Diversity” by Black Enterprise in 2018.

Michael Smith is Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, at The Estée Lauder Companies, one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Mr. Smith has held this position since August 2017. He reports to

Executive Vice President, Global Finance and Strategy and Chief Financial Officer, Tracey Travis.

Mr. Smith is a seasoned leader who brings a mix of IT, commercial and functional experience to this leadership role. He joins us from Boma Technologies, a technology consulting company that he founded and served as Chief Executive Officer, specializing in technology and management advisement for the sports, life sciences and technologies industries. For more than 25 years, Mr. Smith held various technology leadership positions, including four years with Mylan NV, a global pharmaceuticals company, where he was Global Head of Digital and Innovation and Global Business Services.  He also spent over 22 years with Nike, Inc., where he held multiple brand, operational, and technology roles, including Head of Brand, Product and Marketplace Solutions and Head of Enterprise Solutions and Technology.  At Nike, he was involved in the development and deployment of a broad range of transformational strategies including global supply chain re-engineering, go-to-market evolution, enterprise-wide organizational design, and multiple digital shifts including the global e-commerce strategy, product customization through NikeID, and Nike+.  In addition, Mr. Smith has led various shared services teams such as HR, Finance, Procurement and Commercial Operations.

Consumer preferences, powered by new technologies, are rapidly changing the beauty industry. Michael’s forward-thinking approach to technology and commerce combined with his deep expertise in building innovative digital and analytics capabilities in the key strategic areas of digital marketing, retail, e-commerce, and innovation will greatly benefit our Company and help advance our brands’ growing technology needs. His broad experience defining and executing technology and transformational business strategies, coupled with his strong understanding of digital, commercial business and shared services, make him ideally suited to lead IT and maximize our Company’s leadership potential in innovative technology.