Breaking Barriers at the Top of the Game: A Conversation with Kim Davis

In this episode of the Better Understanding Podcast, host Susan MacKenty Brady sits down with Kim Davis, Senior Executive Vice President of the National Hockey League and the 2026 Helen G. Drinan Visionary Leader Award recipient. Kim reflects on a career shaped by disruption—from navigating mergers early in financial services to leading large-scale cultural change in professional sports. She shares how learning to operate amid ambiguity prepared her to balance results and humanity, accountability and connection. Throughout the conversation, Kim offers practical leadership wisdom, including her “Three P’s” framework—Preparation, Passion, and Purpose, her distinction between mentors and sponsors, and her conviction that inclusion is not charitable—it is a growth strategy. She speaks candidly about patience, resilience, and protecting personal energy, as well as what it means to lead authentically as a woman of color in traditionally homogeneous executive spaces. This episode is a masterclass in values-based leadership—illustrating how trust is built through vulnerability, how influence compounds over time, and why connection is not a soft skill, but a core leadership capability tied directly to performance.