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John Davis (entrepreneur)

John Davis
John F. Davis III Headshot.jpg
Born John F. Davis III
1953
Nationality American
Other names John F. Davis, John Davis III
Alma mater Texas Christian University
Occupation Businessman
Known for Former Chairman and CEO of Pegasus Solutions Inc
Board member of TRX Inc, Texas Christian University

John F. Davis III (born 1953) is an entrepreneur, educator, CEO of Room Key, and a member of the Texas Christian University Board of Trustees. He is a co-founder of 1-800-Flowers and former CEO of both Pegasus Solutions and Birch Street Systems.

Davis was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he attended Broadmoor High School. He is the oldest of five siblings. Davis graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with a bachelor’s in business administration. Following his graduation, Davis briefly became involved in politics, serving as U.S. Senator John Tower’s campaign director during Tower's successful 1978 reelection bid. Following his work on Tower's campaign, Davis ran for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives and lost a close race.

Davis' business career began in 1978, when he became president of Mid-South Drilling Co. In 1982, he co-founded 1-800-FLOWERS, then a toll-free phone ordering system for the floral industry, with business partner Jim Poage. He sold his stake in the company to James McCann in 1984.

Davis founded a telemarketing company, ATC Communications, in 1984. By the time he sold the business in 1989, ATC Communications had 1,200 employees.

In 1989, Davis was hired as president and CEO of the Hotel Switch Company (THISCO), which was a consortium of fifteen major hotel chains. At THISCO, Davis created a computer switch that linked the individual chains’ reservations with airline global distribution systems. His Pegasus Electronic Distribution Switch technology launched in 1989 and he began selling the technology to hotel chains outside of the consortium.

In 1992, Davis led the formation of Hotel Clearing Corporation. In 1994, Davis led the launch of TravelWeb, then an online travel and hotel catalogue. In 1996, TravelWeb became the first website that allowed users to book hotel and airline reservations online.


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