# Davis Smith

> Davis Smith is the founder and chairman of Cotopaxi, the outdoor gear brand launched in 2014 with a commitment to fighting poverty. Previously a co-founder of PoolTables.com and Baby.com.br, he transferred the Cotopaxi CEO role in July 2023 to spend three years on an unpaid church leadership assignment in Recife, Brazil. Yale Jackson lists him as a senior fellow for 2026–27.

- **Role:** Founder & Chairman at Cotopaxi; Senior Fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs
- **Organizations:** Cotopaxi, PoolTables.com, Baby.com.br, Dinda.com.br, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in International Studies, Brigham Young University, MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, MA in International Studies, The Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Built Cotopaxi past $100 million in annual revenue in 2022, as reported in the company’s January 2023 announcement., Launched Cotopaxi with a Questival attended by approximately 5,000 participants., Selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Met Edgar during a nonprofit internship in Cusco, Peru, with his wife Asialene.
- **2003** — Graduated from BYU and began exploring business ideas with cousin Kimball Thomas.
- **2004** — Co-founded the pool-table retailer that became PoolTables.com.
- **2011** — Completed dual graduate degrees at Penn and moved to Brazil to build Baby.com.br.
- **2014** — Launched Cotopaxi, with Stephan Jacob and CJ Whittaker among its co-founders.
- **2021** — Bought back PoolTables.com and recruited Kent Salisbury as CEO.
- **2023** — Became Cotopaxi chairman on July 1 and began a three-year unpaid mission presidency in Recife.
- **2026** — Announced completion of the Brazil mission; listed as a Yale Jackson senior fellow for 2026–27.

## Achievements

- Built Cotopaxi past $100 million in annual revenue in 2022, as reported in the company’s January 2023 announcement.
- Launched Cotopaxi with a Questival attended by approximately 5,000 participants.
- Selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar.
- Recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year.
- Pacific U.S. regional honoree for the 2022 YPO Global Impact Award.
- Listed as a senior fellow at Yale Jackson for 2026–27.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Appeared on Startup Dad’s July 9 episode discussing Cotopaxi, family values and his church service in Brazil.
- **2026-06** — Announced on LinkedIn that his family’s three-year mission in Brazil had ended; month verified from the public post’s activity identifier.
- **2026-10** — Yale Jackson’s current directory and 2026–27 fellows list identify Smith as a senior fellow; October is the verification month.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davismsmith/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/davismsmith
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davismsmith/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/davis-smith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11