Kent Thiry
Kent Thiry is chairman and CEO of DaVita, a FORTUNE 200 company with 75,000 teammates and approximately $14 billion in revenues. The company operates in 11 countries globally, delivering clinically differentiated health care to nearly 2 million patients.
DaVita has been the subject of leadership and culture case studies written by both Harvard and Stanford, and taught in many other schools and programs. Kent sits on the Harvard Business School’s advisory board and is regularly invited to speak on leadership and culture at top business schools, companies and not-for-profit leadership groups.
In 2016 he led Let Colorado Vote, a group that passed two ballot initiatives, one that re- established the presidential primary in Colorado and a second that opens Colorado’s primaries to unaffiliated voters. He is currently leading a redistricting reform initiative, Fair Maps Colorado, as well as a statewide Path to Shared Prosperity blueprint process with a group of CEOs from most of Colorado’s largest companies. He also co-founded The Aspen Group with Senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle.
Prior to joining DaVita, Kent served in several senior executive roles, including chairman and CEO of Vivra Specialty Partners, a specialty health care company; president and then CEO of Vivra, a NYSE health care service company; and partner at Bain & Company. Prior board seats include the non- executive Chairmanship of Oxford Health Plans.
Kent earned his B.A. in political science, with distinction, from Stanford University, where he also was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, in 1978. He earned his M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School in 1983, where he was also elected to the Century Club.
3 words to describe Nature?
Awesome. Complex. Essential
3 things Nature taught you?
The power of rejuvenation
The power of fresh air
How everything is connected
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Our family cottage in Wisconsin
Colorado rockies
Any place with a mountain bike trail that is far away from the road
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Small, in awe, & connected
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Peaceful, hopeful, & it creates in me a higher level of energy
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Respect, timelessness, a sense of faith, power that is beyond our realm and reach
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Fulfilled, calm, human
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Sense of anticipation, respect for the Universe, quiet
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Depends where I am and the clothes I am wearing. When backpacking I get a sense of excitement, that a challenge is coming. I need to know where safe ground is. It also reminds me the appreciation for the basics - being warm and dry.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest first, mountain second, ocean third.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Running through the forest in northern Wisconsin.
Alison Davis
Alison Davis is co-founder of Fifth Era. She is a global strategist, finance professional, public company board director and active investor in growth companies. She is currently a director of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Fiserv (FISV), Unisys (UIS) and Ooma (OOMA), and is chair of the advisory board for BlockChain Capital. She is a former director of, City National Bank (CYC), Diamond Foods (DMND), First Data Corporation (FDC), Xoom (XOOM), and many private companies and was the Chairman of LECG (XPRT) until its sale in 2011. She has chaired audit, compensation, and governance committees and is a frequent speaker on corporate governance. Alison was previously the managing partner of Belvedere Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in US banks and financial services firms. Prior to this, Alison was the Chief Financial Officer of Barclays Global Investors (now BlackRock), the world’s largest institutional investment firm with more than $1.5 trillion of assets under management. Earlier in her career, Alison spent 14 years as a strategy consultant and advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs, boards and executive teams with McKinsey & Company,and as a practice leader with A.T. Kearney where she built and led the global Financial Services Practice.
Alison is also the co-author of the best selling books Build Your Fortune in the Fifth Era: How to Prosper in an Age of Unprecedented Innovation & Corporate Innovation in the Fifth Era: Lessons from Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft
Alison is active in the community supporting non-profits and social enterprises as a board director, fundraiser and volunteer. She has been frequently named a “Most Influential Women in Business” by the San Francisco Business Times. She received a B.A. Honors and a Master’s in Economics from Cambridge University in England, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business after completing the first-year at Harvard. She was born in Sheffield, UK, is now a dual US/UK citizen and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Matthew C. Le Merle, and their five children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Vast, magical, glorious
3 things Nature taught you?
To breathe
To be delighted
To be in awe
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Any grassy spot where I can sit or lie in the sun and let the earth hold me
A secret bench on Ring Mountain Tiburon from which to view the Bay and coastline and Marin townships
From a canoe in the middle of Lake Tahoe
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Alive
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Curious
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Blessed, happy
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Exhilarated and powerful
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Energized, bold
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean or Mountain
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
7
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Rambling in the Yorkshire Moors and Derbyshire Dales with my grandfather and often getting delightfully lost