Voices of Influence: Regina Davis

2025 Influential Women in Business honoree Regina Davis, Baton Rouge Refinery Manager for ExxonMobil, shares her insights. Read her profile here.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career—and how did you learn it?

I learned the importance of being open to learning and being authentically you.  Having the ability to learn whether its through success or failure has been the most impactful for me on my leadership journey.

I believe that in order to truly learn, you also have to demonstrate humility. At times that may seem at conflict at being a “strong” leader. However, as Brene Brown said, it takes a courageous leader to demonstrate humility.

I am most inspired by leaders who are confident, yet humble and I believe that it has helped me to continue to evolve as a leader, for the better. I couple this with being authentically you because I have also learned that while I can aspire to learn from others, I have to remain authentic and true to myself.

The leader that I am is needed. I bring unique gifts and talents. Being open to learn does not mean that I copy what I see, it means that apply what I have learned to be an even better authentic leader. I aspire to learn but to also remain authentically me.

What’s one risk you took that changed your trajectory, either professionally or personally?

I found myself pregnant and unmarried the summer before my senior year of college.

I was majoring in Chemical Engineering, which was already a very demanding degree, but now I had to figure out how I would manage as a single mom. My parents encouraged me to drop out and come home because I didn’t have a support system. The challenge with that plan, was that there were no public universities in my home town of New Orleans that I could afford that offered Chemical Engineering. Coming home, would mean I would not be able to graduate in Engineering and could even mean that I would not graduate at all.

This was probably the first time in my life that I “defied” my parents and made my own decision to remain at Louisiana Tech. It wasn’t easy, but It was the first time that I took a risk to ask for help.

I asked for help from the campus counselor, I asked for help from my college professors, I asked for help from friends. And it paid off.

I graduated with a strong GPA, a great job at a fortune 500 company and with a 1-year-old daughter. The scared and timid young girl that entered that university left a confident young woman that knew she had the ability to succeed, even in the face of adversity.

How do you stay focused and motivated when things get difficult? 

I reflect on a printout of a very special post-it note from one of my mentors.

On that note she wrote “You are Amazing! And don’t you forget it.”

That one phrase has significant meaning to me. I attended a seminar with this mentor years ago, and the speaker shared how we are all created with amazing potential and with an amazing purpose. He shared that we have to remind ourselves of that, especially when we are going through rough times. This has resonated with me tremendously through the years.

I am a person of faith and knowing that God has created me for an amazing purpose for his Glory and knowing that when things are rough I can remember that “this too shall pass” has continued to be my way of centering myself when times get tough.

What’s your personal definition of success—and has it changed over time? 

My personal definition of success has changed over the years. I think it started out just wanting to be the best engineer that I could be. And then it became a desire to climb to the level of refinery manager by the time I retired.

Well I have hit that goal and will surpass it. But my definition of success no longer is associated with the level or the position that I can attain. It is now my ability to make a positive impact in the lives of others.

Internal to the company, that is through mentoring, advocating, influencing our policies to maximize the opportunities for amazing people to achieve their potential. External to the company, it is the true genuine impact that I can make in the lives of young people that have amazing potential, but just need the opportunity.

One of my favorite quotes from Michele Obama sums this up. “Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

What’s a piece of advice you once received that you always come back to? 

I was given advice about 10 years into my career to seek out mentors and establish my network.

Both of those were initially foreign to me, and honestly felt self-serving at first. However, this is the best advice that I have ever been given. Having mentors has allowed me to grow well beyond what I could have done on my own. I prioritize being a mentor because of the impact that was made on me.

Many times our work can be hard and lonely, especially as we move to levels of increasing influence. Having a network of supporters and friends to connect with and rely on, to learn from and share thoughts with has been more powerful than I would have ever realized. And neither of these are self serving as they tend to be two way benefits: as a mentor I learn from my mentee and vice versa. As a friend, my network can rely on me just as much as I rely on them.

What’s your go-to way to recharge after a long week? 

A glass of wine, sitting down playing worship music on my piano—I like to call it “Worship and Wine!”

If you could have dinner with any woman living or from history, who would it be and what would you ask her? 

Michele Obama. One of my favorite quotes is from her is about the meaning of success. I would ask her how she navigated the criticism that she has received throughout her career, including as the first lady, what is she most proud of, and if she could change one thing that she did, what would that be.

What’s one item on your desk (or in your bag) that you can’t live without—and why? 

My One Note and my journal. My One Note helps me keep my business organized; my journal helps me keep my thoughts organized.

What song instantly puts you in a good mood or makes you feel powerful? 

“I’m Every Woman” Chaka Khan

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self—if she’d actually listen? 

I would tell her to not give space to the “haters.” There will be people that are rooting for her, and others that are looking forward to her haters. I would tell her (and my current self!) to not give them the space in her thoughts that will distract her, cause her to have doubt and question her identity. I would have her remind herself of who she really is according to her faith, and know that she is amazing and not to forget it.