We were so pleased to be honored as a 2020 Family Business Awards Recipient this past week. The Triad Business Journal runs the awards, and the winners were a mix of large and small business of all industry types.
Keir Davis founded Xtern in 2002. Working out of his townhouse in NW Greensboro (North Carolina), Davis soon found a demand for custom software in the Triad and beyond. The company grew consistently each year, ultimately bringing on additional staff to support the growth of the business. Five years ago, Keir’s wife, Jennifer, joined as VP of Sales & Marketing.
Keir grew up in Greensboro. He stresses the importance of community stewardship. Xtern built a database for a local housing nonprofit to track work orders, and improved the vendor data for a local legal aid nonprofit. Keir is an active member of Summit Rotary (Greensboro). He also serves on the UNCG Computer Science Industry Advisory Board.
Jennifer “officially” joined the business five years ago. She was quite involved previously, as the person Keir would bounce ideas off of, vent frustrations to, etc. She understood the business and easily made the transition from caring for their daughter to working for Xtern.
Jennifer’s family has lived in NC since the 1700s (possibly the 1600s). From their daughter’s 4th grade NC history project, they learned that she is a 10th generation North Carolinian. Jennifer is an active volunteer for local food aid nonprofits. She also enjoys gardening and buying plants and produce from the local farmers market.
Jennifer and Keir work hard to keep work and home life separate. They don’t talk after dinner about work related things, and they even commute to the office separately!
Running a family business presents many challenges, but also many opportunities. We are excited for continued success for Xtern this year and in the years to come!