LSU Alumni Geaux Getter: Davis Harris

Building an Automation-

First Future 

Since the launch of ChatGPT 3.5 in 2022, Large Language Models have become ubiquitous in all facets of life.

LSU Alumnus Davis Harris (2016 BACH BUS) is the CEO of Liaison AI, an AI consulting company based in Austin, TX. He works with companies to automate their business assets, such as customer service, marketing, and sales, to improve efficiency, comparing a “1:1 customer-to-agent growth model for a 5:1 automation-first strategy.”

Harris started his company in mid-2021, and has expanded his business more than 500% in the past few years, selling more than 400 different tools to organizations, not only AI, but also cloud services, cybersecurity, and internet solutions. This array offers customers the most value, especially those using Liaison AI as a second-opinion vendor for their tech needs.

Customer relationships mean a great deal to Harris, noting that helping with internet outages can be fixed easily. Assistance with those issues allows the relationship to cultivate and strengthen, with his team helping customers of other issues as much as they can. This highlights a proven process that they can scale.

Taking a Chance on Austin 

Harris didn’t envision he would be CEO of an AI consulting company after graduating, but knew he wanted to move to Austin and was assisted by a mentor, Brady Flavin, a fellow Kappa Sigma alumnus and State Farm agent in Baton Rouge.

“I had no job after graduating, so I went to Flavin,” Harris said. “He said, ‘Well, what do you want to do and where do you want to be?’ I knew the answer was that I wanted to be in technology and real estate, and that I wanted to be in Austin, Texas. He then said ‘Great, pack your things up and move.’”

From Logistics to Liaison AI 

Flavin set up Harris with an interview with Arrive Logistics, a small freight brokerage startup at the time. He was hired to work on the customer side of the business. A freight brokerage is the connecting point between corporations and truckers, scheduling when deliveries and pick-ups happen.

“We want you talking to Coca-Cola, not people like Schneider Transportation, the trucking company,” Harris said, mimicking his former boss. “But I told him ‘Man, I don’t care what side of the business I'm talking to or selling to, I’ll sell more than anybody you have.”

Two months after he left Arrive Logistics, he formed Liaison AI.

“What if I could do what the logistics company did, but with technology that offered value and drove efficiency?” Harris thought at the time. “That would be my dream job.”

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He achieved this dream with Liaison AI. During a meeting with Billy Harrison, a member of the LSU alumni network he maintained contact with, they talked about different ways for the company to start, with Harris ultimately leaving the meeting and filing Liaison AI LLC with the Texas comptroller the same day.

“The alumni network is really powerful, really good, and I really appreciate all that they’ve done for me, along with the education from the university itself,” Harris said. “Without LSU, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”