Ethel J. Davis
CEO
Ethel J. Davis – is the CEO and Portfolio Manager of VZD Capital Management, LLC She is the first African-American female to own a 100% of a Registered Investment Advisory firm in the Midwest and one of few within the U.S. She brings 25 years of investment experience from respected firms – American Century, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab & Co, Inc., and Paragon Capital Management Inc. Being a fee-based investment advisor, Ethel’s compensation is tied solely to her ability to grow her client’s assets under management. Titles are one thing; heart, passion and dedication quite another.
Talk with Ethel and it quickly becomes crystal clear that while her business is money, her passion passes numbers and goes right to the heart of who she is as a professional, mentor, woman and daughter. Ethel is a financial maven by leveraging her investment experience to understand each client’s goals, objectives, time horizon and emotional state of mind. She makes it her mission to extract their stories, filter the information and then build a customized solution that fuels their dreams, honor their heritage and exceed their financial expectations.
Nikisha L. Johnson
Executive Mentoring Program
Nikisha l. Johnson – is a Kansas City native known for executive and legal leadership with many respected firms – Polsinelli, Stinson LLP Law, and Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, LLP. She was the first participant to be selected in the VZD Executive Mentoring Program. The ultimate goal for Nikisha is to become the Senior Vice President for Ethel hand-selected her to be part of the succession plan. Her entrepreneurial spirit and passion are in alignment with putting the client’s interest and blazing new trails for the firm.
She continually develops talent and skill sets that focus on the client’s success and channels of partner support. She is now spearheading major strategic shifts for transforming IT from a functional focus to an enabler of innovation for the business and integrating the finance organization so that it supports a truly global company.
Nikisha is a powerful speaker and high energy communicator known for capturing attention with her purpose-driven phrases and motivating dialogue. She is a co-author of “See Yourself in the Future” and other intellectual property that is currently being developed for seminars and workshops.