Dr. Jelani Ellington is a C-suite executive, entrepreneur, and scholar-practitioner with 20+ years of experience leading enterprise operations, large-scale transformation, and AI-driven strategy across Fortune 50 corporations, a $20B regional construction market, and entrepreneurial ventures.

He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of the General Building Contractors Association (GBCA), a 135-year-old trade association representing 300+ commercial construction companies. At GBCA, Dr. Ellington directs enterprise operations across Human Resources, Finance, IT, and Member Services, and has designed and deployed proprietary AI-powered analytical platforms - including workforce pipeline simulators, market sizing models, and collective bargaining intelligence tools - that inform labor negotiation strategy and workforce investment decisions across the regional construction industry. In his first year, he drove 5% net membership growth and achieved 98% member retention.

Prior to GBCA, Dr. Ellington founded and served as CEO of Prometheus Innovation Corporation, a management consulting firm providing C-suite advisory services in strategy, digital transformation, and operational restructuring to clients across healthcare, financial services, and technology. He scaled the firm to $3M+ in annual revenue within two years, built an analytics and data science practice delivering predictive models and executive dashboards, and successfully negotiated the firm's sale.

His Fortune 50 career includes nearly a decade at Elevance Health (Anthem), where he held three Senior Director roles spanning innovation strategy, enterprise transformation, and internal consulting. He established a Process Improvement Center of Excellence that trained 300+ associates in Lean Six Sigma and delivered $300M+ in operational improvements. At Walmart, he led the $11B OTC Pharmaceutical Retail Pricing function, deploying machine learning and predictive analytics across 4,700+ US stores. At Capital One, he served as Chief of Staff to the CIO, advising on technology strategy and leading M&A due diligence. He began his career at General Motors and Ford Motor Company in strategy, operations, and engineering leadership roles.

Dr. Ellington serves as Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, where he designs and teaches graduate courses in organizational design, strategic management, and entrepreneurship, integrating real-world case studies from Fortune 50 operating environments.

He holds a PhD in Management from the University of Maryland, an MS in Management and Systems Engineering from MIT Sloan, and is pursuing an MPA at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. His additional credentials include an MS in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris, an MS in Business Creation from the University of Utah, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. He is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Prosci-certified change practitioner, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduate. He is a member of NACD, ASAE, NBMBAA, and NSBE.