World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) Board of Directors Chairman Jim Walters announced that D. Christopher Davis, the WFCA's President and Chief Executive Officer, passed away on the evening of Feb. 22.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the untimely passing of our friend,
colleague and the esteemed leader of the World Floor Covering Association, D.
Christopher Davis,” said Walters. “It goes without saying that Chris was an
extraordinary businessman in every way – he took the WFCA and the industry to
heights that we never imagined; he championed causes and concerns that we cared
about; he orchestrated programs that helped us grow and become better leaders
and business people; and he paved the way to future success in our industry.
His shocking loss is a tragedy that we are all still coming to terms with. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to his children and extended family."
A memorial service is planned and will be announced in the coming weeks.
Davis was responsible for the entire scope of operations for the WFCA, including overseeing legislative, educational and membership programs and developing strategic initiatives to represent the industry. Davis became CEO of Western Floor Covering Association in August 1994. He implemented the merger of that organization with the American Floorcovering Association (AFA) in January 1995 that led to the creation of the World Floor Covering Association.
Between 1995 and 2000, Davis oversaw all aspects of Surfaces, the premier
tradeshow marketplace for floor covering and other surface materials and
supplies, held annually in Las Vegas. During that period, Surfaces grew to be
ranked one of the top 50 largest tradeshows in the world, according to
Tradeshow Week. Davis negotiated the sale of Surfaces to Hanley-Wood
Exhibitions in January 2000 for $40+ million while retaining WFCA sponsorship
rights to the trade show for a minimum of 25 years.
Davis had over 30 years of executive level experience in association
management, community promotion and destination marketing, including management
of convention/trade show sales, promotion agencies, facilities and programs. He
served as president and chief executive officer of the convention and visitors
bureaus of Long Beach, CA (1988-93), Corpus Christi, TX (1987-88) and Oakland,
CA (1981-87). Before working his way up through increasingly responsible
positions in the Oakland bureau, he served as communications director for the
Oakland Chamber of Commerce (1973-78), was an independent commercial photographer
(1970-78) and worked for ABC News (1970).
Davis was involved in directing the strategic planning process and consulted
extensively on multimillion-dollar convention center development/expansion
projects in Oakland, Long Beach, Austin and Corpus Christi. Davis coordinated
logistics and supervised location management for major events, including the
1984 Democratic National Convention, Super Bowl XIX (1985), the Major League
Baseball All-Star Game (1987), the World Series (1972-73, 1975), the NBA Championship
(1974) and American Bowling Congress (1992).
Davis was also president and CEO of WFCA Services, Inc., the for-profit,
independent subsidiary of the World Floor Covering Association. WFCA Services,
Inc. operates a captive insurance company presently offering worker’s
compensation insurance in California. Davis held the role of president and CEO
of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF), the charitable organization
dedicated to assisting members of the floor covering field that experience
catastrophic illnesses or severe disabilities with which they cannot
financially cope.
He was also chairman of the board of directors, Floor Covering
Business-to-Business Association (fcB2B), which is responsible for managing and
coordinating electronic commerce in the flooring industry. An honors graduate
of the University of California, Berkeley, Davis was named the “Outstanding
Graduate in Journalism” by Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional
Journalists.