Susan Jin Davis is currently the Social Impact Offer for Al Roker Entertainment. Previously, she was Chief Sustainability Officer at Comcast NBCUniversal. Her responsibilities included: identifying sustainable strategies, priorities, and implementing the Sustainability Program across all of Comcast NBC Universal business units and functions. With over 25 years of experience in communications and technology, Susan proves herself to be an integral part of Comcast.

In 2011, Susan negotiated a historic Memorandum of Understanding between Comcast and the Asian American community as part of Comcast’s merger with NBCUniversal. She also helped launch Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program, connecting millions of U.S. households to high-speed internet at home. In her former role as Senior Vice President of Operations Compliance, Susan was responsible for implementing product policies, operationalizing regulatory and legal requirements, reducing costs to the cable business and managing business compliance.

Susan is deeply committed to helping her community in the best way she can. She currently serves on Comcast’s Internal Diversity Council, is a Company liaison to the Comcast and NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council, and is an executive sponsor of Asian Pacific Americans at Comcast, a Company employee resource group. For many years, Cablefax has named Susan as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” and “The Most Influential Minorities in Cable”. Susan also serves as the Chair of the Board of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies and is on the Boards of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship and the Juvenile Law Center.

As a leader in her industry, Susan had much to say about her journey to success:

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Throughout your leadership journey, from your first job to your current position, what are some key lessons you’ve learned that have shaped you as a leader?

Susan Jin Davis: Whether I was working in law, compliance, or operations, I have always been drawn to challenging jobs where I could make an impact and challenge the status quo. At Comcast, I’ve been able to create unique jobs for myself and lead start-up organizations from scratch such as Internet Essentials, Operations Compliance and now Sustainability. Thus, the positions I’ve held throughout my career have been united by a theme: driving positive change. The criteria I use to decide what to do next is: Will I be able to create impact and make a difference?

Key lessons that I’ve learned along my career journey include:

(1) step out of your comfort zone because that is how you will learn, grow and progress in your career.

(2) don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo – your unique perspective as a person of color gives you a different point of view that adds value.

(3) be yourself – after all, who else can you be? Be proud of your identity and experience as an AAPI person and learn to leverage your background to contribute and drive value to your organization.

(4) create and maintain strong relationships. No one does it alone and everyone needs a posse to lean and depend on.

Did you have any mentors to help guide and support you? If so, how did you find your mentor? 

SJD: I have and have had many mentors and sponsors throughout my career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and help of others who took a chance on me. When I started at Comcast, I was fortunate enough to have a boss who took an interest in me. She became my sponsor – someone who took a chance on me and used her human capital to open doors for me. She trusted me to get results, gave me visibility with upper management, and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Product launches. Tech center management. Sustainability programs. My sponsor used her powerful position to bring me and others up with her so that we were seen and heard. This helped us build the kind of powerful connections that would serve us throughout our careers.

What do you still want to accomplish?

SJD: I’m passionate about working to achieve our long-term aspirational goals of zero waste, zero emissions and 100% renewable energy. I am also committed to continuing to address social and racial justice.

What is the most meaningful part of your job?

SJD: I love that my job attaches to a greater good of making the world more sustainable for everyone and everything. I am inspired by the prospect of contributing to a greater good that’s bigger than myself and my company and has world-wide implications. Climate change is a serious threat to the earth and all living beings on it. It’s an urgent call to action to do something now. For example, we need to reduce food waste. As a country, we throw away nearly 40% of the food we produce in the U.S. while meanwhile, Americans suffer from high levels of food insecurity and hunger. It’s even worse now with the impact of COVID-19. No one should go hungry. Everyone should have access to good food. We need to find ways to solve these world problems!  

What are three key characteristics or habits that have led to your success? 

SJD: I can quickly grasp complex issues and distill them down to what matters and what needs to be done. I am solution and results driven so I always have my eye on those balls. I know how to read a room and I can communicate in a way that resonates with the audience. I am not afraid to take risks and to go into the unknown. I run towards fires not away from them!

There is often a lack of representation of women of color in executive and board rooms. When you find yourself in these situations, how do you ensure your voice is heard?

SJD: On an individual basis, I am at a place in my career where I am often at the table where decisions are made so I participate fully in the room where it happens, to quote “Hamilton.” More importantly, however, I notice who is not in the room or who is not participating and look for ways to invite others in and to empower women and people of color to be engaged. I am also very involved in my company’s DEI strategy for which I am very grateful and passionate. I work for a company that has many accolades in the area of DEI and we are implementing many best practices. I am very fortunate to work for a company that has diversity as a corporate value.

The pandemic has shifted the way a lot of industries do business. How are you leading your team through these unprecedented times? Have you found any silver linings? 

SJD: My leadership style has not changed. I continue to communicate often and to be transparent about where we are as business and department. The work has continued in full force during COVID-19. But the way in which we engage is challenging because we are no longer in person. I strongly urge my team members to keep the video on when in meetings so we can see each other and have direct contact in this manner. We have more frequent team building activities focused on topics such as wellness. We try to have more informal get togethers where we don’t talk shop and have fun. I am also very mindful of the impact of stress on the team – whether it is from COVID-19, George Floyd and racial strife, or the challenges of being home with home schooling children or dealing with elderly family members. It’s a daunting time for the team and we need to make sure that everyone feels supported, valued, and cared for. I encourage team members to take breaks and to find time for themselves. The work will always be here!

A recent McKinsey study on women in the workplace show that while more women are reaching C-suite level positions, women of color are especially underrepresented at entry and mid-level management positions. What can companies do to address this disparity? 

SJD: Unconscious bias really affects the environment we create at work, how we engage with others, and the decisions we make. Companies, therefore, need to address bias and leaders need to look for ways to bypass the unconscious way we operate. In this way, we can create a more inclusive culture at work. People need to feel valued, seen for who they are, and heard. We need to purposefully develop women and people of color so that they are in the pipeline for promotions and new opportunities. Sponsorship is a really important way in which we can push people upwards, so leaders need to sponsor underrepresented people to support and promote. That’s how I was able to succeed at Comcast. I had several sponsors who opened doors for me, got me visibility, and promoted me. We need to ensure that our slate or candidates for positions is diverse so that we are fairly considering people for new opportunities or promotions.

What advice would you give to women of color who aspire to lead and make change? 

SJD: Remember from where we came – you didn’t do it alone and you stood on the shoulders of others. So, give back in the same manner. Also, I’ve found that when you lead with empathy, you bring out the best in people because they feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. In this way you can create trust, strong team commitment, and great performance. Finally, develop others to lead. Make yourself dispensable so that others can become leaders too.

What podcasts are you listening to and/or books are you reading?

SJD: I usually read a few books at the same time. Right now, I am reading “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning” by Cathy Park Hong, “Educated” by Tara Westover, “Where Reasons End” by Yiyun Lee and a couple of mystery/suspense novels.

Having a “daily routine for success” has been shown to improve mental, physical, and emotional health. Do you have a daily routine?

SJD: My daily routine includes waking up early and working out – resistance exercises, yoga stretches, running, meditating, and journaling before I start my day. I feel that these routines clear my head and get me ready for what lies ahead. It’s so important to engage in self-care every day to take care of your mental, physical, and emotional needs! I’m then ready to work. I make an effort to get up and walk around throughout the day. It’s not good to be sedentary so taking little breaks really helps me. I also use a stand-up desk as well as a traditional one. I make sure to end the day at a reasonable hour both because I need to create that boundary between work and personal now that we are working at home and in order to care for my elderly father and daughter. They need to eat on time (early)! After dinner, I take a walk outside to wind down from the day. I usually end the day watching reality food shows, documentaries, or movies with my daughter. I get to sleep early to get the necessary rest for me to begin the routine all over again in the morning. One good thing that has come out of COVID-19 is that I am more dedicated to getting necessary rest for my mental and physical health.