Paula Davis

Paula works on senior assignments across industries and organizations ranging from Fortune 500 corporations and agencies to private equity-owned companies and startups to associations and nonprofits. She advises clients how to build effective, best in class corporate communications functions and provides consulting services to companies in pursuit of transformation. In addition, Paula supports broader C-suite searches in the Consumer, Automotive, and Defense & Aerospace Practices.

Before joining Korn Ferry, Paula was a member of the Communications and Marketing practice at Heidrick & Struggles. Prior to Heidrick, she spent more than 30 years serving as a senior communications leader and general management executive for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in different phases of business development, evolution and culture change. As a Corporate Affairs leader and former Chief of Staff to the CEO, Paula is known for building world class teams, strategies and partnerships that drove organizational, reputational and industry transformation and progress. Among her accomplishments, she successfully managed CEO transitions, corporate rebrands, culture transformations, significant global crises and shareholder activism campaigns, takeover scenarios and complex merger & acquisition integrations.  

Paula serves on the advisory board of Guild, a workforce development startup, as well as the Jed Foundation, focused on preventing teen suicide, and American Corporate Partners, which provides mentorships for Veterans and their spouses. She serves on the board of directors of the REACH Institute and Melton Jewish Education.

Paula holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She earned her BA in Psychology and English from the University of Michigan.