Timmy Davis, former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, will speak at Virginia Commonwealth University’s commencement next month. The ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Siegel Center. 

Born at Quantico and raised on various Marine Corps bases, Davis served in the Marine Corps from 1993 to 2003, including tours in the Horn of Africa and Iraq. After leaving the military, he joined the Senior Foreign Service, where he achieved the rank of minister counselor and held numerous overseas and domestic posts. 

Davis served as U.S. ambassador to Qatar from 2022 to 2025. He was also executive assistant to Secretaries of State Michael Pompeo and Antony Blinken and U.S. consul general in Basra, Iraq. He held other overseas posts in Guatemala, Colombia and Australia. 

His domestic assignments included senior watch officer in the State Department Operations Center, special assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, director for Iraq at the National Security Council, deputy chief of staff to the special presidential envoy to counter ISIL and acting chief of staff at the State Department. 

Davis is currently president and partner at Irth Capital Management, a global asset management firm, and senior advisor at Mavik Capital.