Alexander Ellis III

Alexander B. Ellis III was born on January 1, 1949. He is the son of Alexander B. (Sandy) Ellis II and Nancy Walker Bush Ellis. Ellis II was an insurance executive based in Boston who studied at Yale University and was associated with the insurance firm Fairfield & Ellis, which later merged into Corroon & Black, now part of Willis Group Holdings. Nancy Walker Bush Ellis is the sister of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States.

Ellis III is related to several prominent political figures through his maternal family. He is a nephew of George H. W. Bush and a first cousin of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida.

He was raised in Concord, Massachusetts and attended Phillips Academy Andover for his secondary education. He pursued higher education at Colorado College before attending Yale University, where he earned a master's degree in business administration. Both his father and his uncle, George H. W. Bush, were members of the Yale secret society Skull and Bones.

Early in his career, Ellis worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Edward Brooke, a Republican from Massachusetts. During his time in that role, he studied issues related to the nation’s energy supply, including the impact of OPEC’s pricing strategies.

Following his work with Senator Brooke, Ellis transitioned into the alternative energy sector, focusing on energy efficiency. He was employed by Knoll, a furniture company later acquired by Westinghouse. Subsequently, he was recruited by Kenetech Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of wind turbines. Kenetech received venture capital support and became a significant player in the wind energy industry.

Before his current position, Ellis co-founded a company that developed two independent power plants. Since 1998, he has been a partner at Rockport Capital Partners, a venture capital firm involved in technology and energy investments. Additionally, he serves as chairman of Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.

Ellis has been involved in various organizations and boards. He is a member of the board of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He also holds a position with the Massachusetts Audubon Society, serving on its council and finance and administration committee.