# Henry Davis

> Henry Davis is a New York-based founder, operator and investor. A former Glossier president, COO and CFO, he co-founded Arfa and served as its original CEO before the company pivoted into Chord, where he remains co-founder and chair. He joined White Star Capital as a general partner in January 2026.

- **Role:** General Partner at White Star Capital; Co-founder and Chair at Chord Commerce
- **Organizations:** White Star Capital, Chord Commerce, arfa, Inc., Glossier, Index Ventures, Citi, Sakara Life
- **From:** London, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** BA, Modern History, University of Oxford, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Helped build and expand Glossier during its pre-launch and early international growth years., Co-founded Arfa and led its initial consumer-brand strategy., Co-founded Chord and helped redirect Arfa’s technology into a commerce software business.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Started in investment banking at Citi.
- **2012-2014** — Worked in venture capital at Index Ventures.
- **2014-2018** — Served in president, COO and CFO roles at Glossier; left in December 2018.
- **2019** — Co-founded Arfa and served as original CEO, building a platform for consumer brands.
- **2020** — Arfa launched consumer brands, beginning with Hiki in March.
- **2021** — Arfa rebranded as Chord in March, pivoted to commerce software, announced an $18 million Series A and acquired Yaguara. Bryan Mahoney became CEO; Davis was chairman and COO at the announcement.
- **2022** — Joined White Star Capital as a venture partner; a November interview described his Chord role as co-founder and CSO.
- **2024** — Publicly announced as CEO of Sakara Life in February; White Star’s current biography describes this as a former role.
- **2026** — Joined White Star Capital as a general partner in January, based in New York.

## Achievements

- Helped build and expand Glossier during its pre-launch and early international growth years.
- Co-founded Arfa and led its initial consumer-brand strategy.
- Co-founded Chord and helped redirect Arfa’s technology into a commerce software business.
- Joined White Star Capital as a general partner after serving as a venture partner.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Announced his move to White Star Capital as a general partner on January 22.
- **2026-02** — Published a February 9 LinkedIn essay using drum machines to argue for AI as a tool for new forms of creativity.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrydavisprofile

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/henry-davis
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26