Davis Masten has spent his life navigating the spaces where science, design, and imagination meet. As the longtime CEO and co-chair of Cheskin, he helped shape how organizations think about people and innovation. The firm was among the first to merge anthropology, psychology, and market research into a single practice that could explain why people do what they do. Under his leadership, Cheskin became a laboratory for curiosity, guiding companies as they explored the uncertain terrain of technology and human behavior.
After decades of helping others see around corners, Masten turned his attention to a broader mission. As co-chairman of the President’s Circle of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, he worked to strengthen the bridge between the scientific community and the public. He saw science not as a collection of facts but as a living conversation about possibility. His role there reflected his lifelong belief that progress depends as much on empathy and imagination as on data and precision.
Those who know Masten often speak of his knowing smile, a look that suggests both understanding and amusement at the complexity of human nature. He carries an easy humor that seems to come from deep familiarity with uncertainty. It is the smile of someone who has seen many ideas rise and fall, and who finds delight in the constant motion of change. His calm presence invites reflection, while his eyes seem to ask another question before the last one has been answered.
Masten’s curiosity is both method and compass. Whether studying new materials, mentoring a young entrepreneur, or advising on emerging technologies, he remains focused on what makes people tick. He has always been more interested in the why than the how. His thinking bends toward synthesis, pulling together insights from neuroscience, systems design, and human storytelling.
Even now, he continues to advise institutions and startups that value thoughtful inquiry. Conversation with him feels like wandering into a space where every topic, no matter how technical, connects to something deeply human. The amusement never fades. It lives in his voice, in the careful way he listens, and in the quiet conviction that discovery should always be joyful.
