Signature Keynotes

Four talks. One operator. Built for stakes that are real.

From combat zones to boardrooms to 17,600 ft — Rachel delivers frameworks that work under pressure, not platitudes that fade by Tuesday.

Rachel A. Davis standing with her arms crossed, smiling at the camera in front of a colorful painted mural

Mural by @dammit_wesley

Battle-Tested Leadership

What combat, corporate America, and 17,600 ft taught me about leading when the stakes are real.

Most leadership training is built for when things are going well. Rachel Davis has spent her career in the moments when they aren't — deployed to Afghanistan as a paratrooper, navigating a corporate world that wasn't built for her, and hauling herself to 17,600 ft on a mountain that doesn't care about your excuses.

In this keynote, Rachel draws on three distinct proving grounds to deliver a leadership framework that works under real pressure: mission clarity when the plan falls apart, team cohesion when trust is the only asset you have, and the kind of relentless execution that doesn't wait for perfect conditions. This isn't a talk about being tougher. It's about leading with precision, honesty, and purpose — especially when it's hard.

Key Takeaways

How to lead with clarity when circumstances are uncertain
The difference between pressure that breaks teams and pressure that builds them
Why mission focus outperforms motivation every time
Practical tools for building cultures of execution, not just aspiration

Ideal Audience: Fortune 500 ERGs, women’s leadership summits, executive conferences, corporate leadership retreats, military transition events, sales leadership teams.
Formats: Keynote (45–60 min) · Half-Day Workshop · Panel

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Rachel A. Davis on the steps of an indoor market, one hand on the rail, a leather bag on her shoulder

She Sells — The Women’s Sales Playbook

Military precision meets modern revenue strategy. A framework for women ready to dominate their numbers, own their seat, and rewrite the sales narrative.

Women in sales are often handed a playbook written by and for someone else. They're told to be more assertive, then penalized for it. To build relationships, then criticized when deals close slowly. Rachel Davis knows this dynamic firsthand — and she stopped trying to fit into the frame.

She Sells is a keynote for women who are done playing a smaller game. Drawing on her military background and corporate sales career, Rachel delivers the framework she used to perform at the top of her field without abandoning who she is. This includes how to own a room without performing, how to close with confidence instead of apology, and how to build a pipeline that doesn't depend on anyone giving you permission to succeed.

This is not a talk about how to be more like the men at the top. It's about building the kind of career where you write the rules.

Key Takeaways

How to stop shrinking your pitch and start selling from your full strength
A military-precision framework for pipeline management and follow-through
How to navigate bias in the sales room without losing your edge
Building trust and closing deals in a way that is authentic to who you are

Ideal Audience: Women’s sales conferences, revenue kickoffs, women in business events, corporate ERGs, insurance and financial services teams, direct sales and network marketing organizations.
Formats: Keynote (45–60 min) · Half-Day Workshop · Virtual

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Rachel A. Davis standing in front of a stone fountain wall, hand on her hip, smiling at the camera

Your Next Hire Is in Uniform

Why veteran candidates are the most underutilized talent pool in America — and exactly how to recruit, onboard, and retain them.

Companies say they value military experience. Then they pass over the veteran because the resume doesn't translate. Or they hire them, put them in the wrong role, and wonder why they leave within a year. Rachel Davis has been on both sides of that gap — as a veteran navigating a civilian hiring process that didn't know what to do with her, and as a leader who has helped organizations understand what they're actually looking for when they say they want 'someone who performs under pressure.'

This keynote is the practical, honest guide to veteran hiring that HR teams and talent leaders have been asking for. Rachel breaks down what military training actually produces — mission ownership, adaptability, team leadership, and the ability to execute without hand-holding — and gives organizations a specific, actionable framework for recruiting, onboarding, and retaining this talent in ways that stick.

Veterans are not a charity case or a PR initiative. They are a competitive advantage. This talk is about learning to use them like one.

Key Takeaways

How to read a military resume and identify transferable skills accurately
The most common mistakes companies make in veteran onboarding — and how to fix them
What veterans need in the first 90 days to stay and perform
How to build a veteran hiring program that isn’t just a checkbox

Ideal Audience: HR and talent acquisition teams, SHRM chapters, veteran employment initiatives, DEI and workforce diversity programs, corporate leadership, government contractors.
Formats: Keynote (45–60 min) · Half-Day Workshop · Panel · Virtual

“Rachel Davis brings a rare combination of military credibility, leadership insight, and business acumen to the stage. She understands the value veterans create inside organizations, and she communicates that value in a way that helps employers, leaders, and teams take action.”
— Tim Best, Chief Executive Officer, RecruitMilitary

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Rachel Davis hiking the trail toward Everest Base Camp in Nepal, with Ama Dablam in the distance.

The Climb — Creating an Everest Mindset

You don’t have to summit the highest mountain on the planet. You have to decide you’re worth the climb.

In 2025, Rachel Davis trekked to Everest Base Camp at 17,600 ft with her father. It was a trip she had dreamed about since childhood. What she didn't expect was what the climb would ask of her — not just physically, but in the relationship that almost didn't survive to make the journey possible.

An Everest Mindset is not about extremes. It is not about being a certain kind of athlete or a certain kind of person. It is about the moment you choose your summit — the goal that actually matters to you — and decide to stop finding reasons why you can't. It is about the gap between the life you are describing and the life you are actually building. And it is about what becomes possible when you close that gap.

Rachel uses the Everest trek as a living metaphor for the decisions every leader, professional, and human being faces: when to push, when to adjust, how to prepare honestly, and how to carry the people beside you without losing yourself. This is one of her most personal talks — and consistently the one audiences remember longest.

Key Takeaways

How to choose a summit that is actually yours — not the one handed to you
The difference between preparation and procrastination disguised as planning
What audacious goals require that comfortable goals do not
How to keep moving when the conditions are not what you expected
The decision that happens the moment you leave the room

Ideal Audience: Leadership conferences, corporate all-hands and kickoffs, women’s events, entrepreneurship conferences, veteran transition events, association annual meetings.
Formats: Keynote (45–60 min) · Half-Day Workshop

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Your Next Hire Is in Uniform

Why veteran candidates are the most underutilized talent pool in America — and exactly how to recruit, onboard, and retain them.

Veterans are not a charity case or a PR initiative. They are a competitive advantage. This talk is about learning to use them like one.

Key Takeaways

How to read a military resume and identify transferable skills accurately
The most common mistakes companies make in veteran onboarding — and how to fix them
What veterans need in the first 90 days to stay and perform
How to build a veteran hiring program that isn’t just a checkbox

Ideal Audience: HR and talent acquisition teams, SHRM chapters, veteran employment initiatives, DEI and workforce diversity programs, corporate leadership, government contractors.
Formats: Keynote (45–60 min) · Half-Day Workshop · Panel · Virtual

“Rachel Davis brings a rare combination of military credibility, leadership insight, and business acumen to the stage. She understands the value veterans create inside organizations, and she communicates that value in a way that helps employers, leaders, and teams take action.”
— Tim Best, Chief Executive Officer, RecruitMilitary

Inquire about this talk