Armond Davis

Armond Davis (born May 12, 1978) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and Managing Partner of The Paragon Group^[1], a private equity and venture capital firm, which invests primarily in seed and growth stage businesses with minority and female founders and Commercial property.

Early life[edit]

Armond Davis was born to John W. Davis, Jr., a state of Missouri employee, and Carolyn J. Davis-McLain, an executive at IBM. He was born and raised in St. Louis. His parents divorced when he was young, and he spent his childhood between his mother’s house in the Bellefontaine Neighbors neighborhood and his grandparents’ home near University City. His grandparents, John W. Davis, Sr. and Clarice D. Davis, were educators in the St. Louis public schools for over 30 years. Clarice D. Davis encouraged Armond and his sister to read voraciously and become well-rounded adults. She was a gifted artist and was one of the first Black women to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Fine Arts, obtaining her Bachelor’s degree circa 1933.

Davis attended North County Christian School in Ferguson, Missouri for eight years. He then attended high school at Lutheran High School North (Missouri) before moving on to Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, where he graduated.

He attended Florida A&M University, where he studied finance in the prestigious School of Business and Industry (SBI) and obtained his BS in Management and then graduated Magna Cum Laude with an MBA in Finance in 2002. During his time there, he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and a Prince Hall Freemasonry.

In 2019, Davis received his second Master’s degree when he obtained an MS in Commercial Real Estate Investment from Georgia State University.

Career[edit]

After finishing his undergrad education Davis worked in the Atlanta office of Goldman Sachs in Asset Management. Although the experience was relatively brief, it had a profound impact on Armond and cemented in him the desire to become an entrepreneur and investor. After returning to Florida A&M University and obtaining his MBA, he worked for SunTrust Banks Bank in Atlanta, starting on the equity trading desk at its investment banking subsidiary, Robinson Humphrey, and then transitioning to Private Client Services, where he helped to manage the investment portfolios of high net-worth entrepreneurs who were clients of the bank. This experience further propelled him towards his future as an entrepreneur.

In 2006, Davis left SunTrust Banks and completed his first business acquisition deal, buying a controlling stake in a small construction firm in Atlanta. In 2008, the Great Recession in the United States ravaged the country, particularly impacting the construction and real estate industry. By 2010, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. In response, Davis engineered cost savings while simultaneously expanding the services that the firm offered to clients until the company became a full-service general contracting and construction management firm. His leadership saved the company from bankruptcy and despite the turmoil of the recession, he did not layoff a single person who worked for the company.

The Paragon Group[edit]

In 2021, Davis founded The Paragon Group (TPG), a private equity and venture capital firm based in Alanta. The firm manages separate funds that focus on two areas: an opportunistic commercial real estate fund and a fund that invests in enterprises that are minority and/or woman owned. Davis believes that with proper funding and support minority and women-owned businesses are just as talented and capable of seeing the same levels of success as any other business.

The hallmark of the firm is the mentoring program through which founders whose companies receive investment and guidance from Davis and his team must in turn pass that knowledge forward by mentoring other small business owners in their city. The vision for the program is to create an “ecosystem of exchange” where minority and female founders are sharing the knowledge and experiences that they have gained to propel each other to the next stage of growth and attracting further private equity and venture capital investment.

Civic and Community Involvement[edit]

Davis is heavily involved in community leadership in Metro Atlanta. He is an alum of the United Way’s Volunteer Involvement Program. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the 100 Black Men of America|100 Black Men of Atlanta, the largest and most influential Black mentoring organization in the city.

He is also an alum of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute and the Urban Land Institute’s Center for Leadership.

Personal Life[edit]

Davis is married to Samara Davis, a successful entrepreneur and leading advocate for diversity and inclusion. Together, they own a diverse portfolio of businesses, ranging from marketing consulting to film and television production. They live in Atlanta and have two children.

His sister, Dr. Alauna Curry, is a psychiatrist and one of the country’s foremost experts on trauma and its treatment methods.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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