Karen M. Davis, vice president of RTI’s Research Computing Division (RCD), was hired by RTI in 1999 to set a vision and strategy for RTI-wide business systems and establish an Information Systems organization to execute the plan. Ms. Davis and the Information Systems organization were instrumental in the selection, design, integration, and implementation of all the business systems required to support RTI’s growth.
Since 2005, Ms. Davis has led RCD within the Social, Statistical and Environmental Sciences (SSES) research group; the division employs over 150 technology professionals working on projects for RTI’s clients. Under Ms. Davis’s leadership, RCD’s contributions to RTI’s mission have increased substantially. Achieving this result involved continuing to provide technology support to other divisions and units at RTI while expanding the portfolio by successfully pursuing technology-based projects that require RCD leadership. Ms. Davis has been a project director on multimillion-dollar projects and has received RTI’s project management certification. In 2017, Ms. Davis was named Chief Information Officer for RTI’s SSES. As such, she was responsible for ensuring alignment of RTI’s information technology solutions with the needs of the SSES business group and that of its clients. In 2019, Ms. Davis was named Vice President, SSES Technology Strategy. Ms. Davis has also been a senior advisor on many of RTI’s projects, including having taken a lead in systems security, including working with clients on requirements for systems compliance with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Moderate Authorization and Accreditation.
Ms. Davis has extensive, broad-based business experience, including financial management, human resources (HR) management, data security, and strategic planning in various industries. She is an experienced executive with proven success in leadership, strategic planning, project management, client needs analysis, communication, and business process improvement.
