Christopher Davidson
Christopher Davidson
Dr. Christopher Davidson is an experienced sustainability and forestry professional with formal training in forestry and forest management and previous experiences at Nekoosa Packaging, Champion International, and International Paper, among others. He is currently the vice president of sustainability at WestRock, where he leads sustainability efforts and ensures forestry operations align with sustainability goals.
Dr. Christopher Davidson grew up exploring the hills near his home in Kingston, Jamaica, and fishing with his dad. These experiences shaped him profoundly, as he always knew he wanted to do something outside and non-traditional. In high school, he learned about forestry through a career event held at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston. This led him to pursue a summer job with the Jamaican Forestry Department, where he spent the summer working on a logging crew in the Blue Mountains. Dr. Davidson would attend North Carolina State University for his B.S. in Forest Management and M.Sc. in Forestry. He also holds a Ph.D. in Forestry from Virginia Tech.
Dr. Davidson started his professional career at Nekoosa Packaging in Lake Butler, Florida, as a Land Management Forester, overseeing 44,000 acres of land (1989-1991). After he earned his Ph.D., he joined Champion International as a Research and Development Manager (1997-2000). He then served in multiple roles at International Paper (2004-2011) and MeadWestvaco, including as Director of Sustainable Forestry (2012-2014) and Director of Global Sustainability (2014-2015) at the latter company. In 2015, Dr. Davidson started at WestRock as Director of Corporate Sustainability before being promoted to Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability in 2021 and again to his current position in 2022.
One of his biggest progressional challenges was learning to find comfort in change. In particular, moving multiple times for his job was problematic from a business perspective and for his family. He had to learn to take on new challenges and get outside his comfort zone, which has helped him throughout his career.
Dr. Davidson cites Aleesa Blum, a former manager at International Paper, and Sam Cook, his former classmate, colleague, and friend, as essential mentors in his career. Blum and Cook taught him to be a leader in professional and personal spaces.
In reflecting on advice he'd give young professionals, especially those of marginalized backgrounds, he emphasizes the importance of getting all the experiences you can as each organization will have no opportunities and cultures to help you develop. Moreover, he suggests dealing with problems head-on. If you cannot deal with it person to person, Dr. Davidson says to not "be afraid to take it to a higher level" (2023).
Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers. Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences. (2023). Retrieved February 18, 2024.
Christopher B. Davidson. LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2024 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-b-davidson-8b550414/
Christopher B. Davidson [Photo]. LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2024 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-b-davidson-8b550414/
Christopher B. Davidson [Photo]. LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2024 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-b-davidson-8b550414/