Jim Davis racked up 635,000 frequent flier miles in eight months flying to the West Coast – that’s equivalent to 26 trips around the world. That’s too much for someone who wants to keep his roots in the Triangle. So, he’s looking for a new opportunity.

Davis, the former chief marketing officer at SAS who left the company last year, recently stepped down from Informatica, which recruited him for a similar role. In an exclusive interview with WRAL TechWire, Davis explains what led to the latest career move – and what he might do next.

Could he return to SAS?

The Skinny caught up with Davis over the weekend after getting a tip about his latest career move. Earlier, a spokesperson for Informatica confirmed that Davis had left the company and noted that his departure would not have any impact on the firm’s Triangle operations, which she said continues to grow.

In fact, that Triangle office (acquired when Informatica bought StrikeIron in 2014) was one of the reasons why Davis decided to jump from SAS. But he says the agreed-upon plan for him to commute “occasionally” didn’t work out.

So, he’s back in the Triangle full-time, mulling what to do next.

Our Q&A follows:

  • So what happened? What can you tell me?

Nothing really earth shattering here. When I took the job at the beginning of the year, we agreed that we would give it a try with me being located in Cary and commuting occasionally to Informatica’s headquarters in California. The thought was that I would spend most of my time in California in the first quarter, working with other members of the executive team on aligning strategy.

The executive team is relatively new (a good group, I might add) and we needed to spend time face-to-face coming together and aligning efforts. After we got through the first quarter, I would then spend at least every other week in the Cary office and be in California occasionally for executive team meetings and board meetings.

It became evident that the CMO really needed to be located full time in California with the other members of the exec team.

In the first 8 months of the year, I was only able to spend three days in Cary.

I racked up 635k miles on United!

That sort of travel is really not that sustainable for a lot of reasons. I chose not to relocate to California and in the end we agreed to part ways so that they could pursue recruiting a CMO in California. It all made sense.

No hard feelings whatsoever. The folks there are good and will do well. With the exception of the travel, I enjoyed my time there.  A good experience.

Informatica is in a market that is growing and their push to the cloud will serve them well.

  • I had checked your LinkedIn profile before reaching out to you. Informatica really wouldn’t say anything

That is their corporate policy — similar to a lot of companies, SAS included. Most companies I’ve dealt with simply confirm departures.

  • What are your plans? What do you want to do?

Good question and one that I am taking time to consider.

I have been very fortunate to have worked for very good organizations and have had great experiences as a result. Naturally, leadership in the data and analytics space is interesting given all the attention and innovation taking place. In addition, my background in computer science, marketing, and strategy is something that I would like to continue to leverage as well.

We’ll see what comes of it all. I am remaining open minded.

  • Any chance you might go back to SAS?

There is no discussion going on. SAS is certainly a great place.

  • Do you regret having left SAS?

I believe my time at SAS was good for both of us. SAS provided me with opportunity and in return I believe I contributed to SAS’ growth and success. I did not leave SAS because I was disenchanted.

I was at a point in my career where I needed to get out and explore other markets and operating models. That move, while difficult, was certainly one that gave me an opportunity to expand my view a bit.