Born in Watertown, New York in 1942.  Mr. Ellis received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1964 and also attended Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Ellis was Vice President and Investment Analyst with The Bank of New York from 1965 to 1970. In 1970, Mr. Ellis joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. and in 1986 was named a General Partner. During his tenure as Goldman Sachs’ senior retail-industry analyst from 1970-1994, Mr. Ellis was cited by Institutional Investor Magazine as the first-ranked retail investment analyst on Wall Street for 18 consecutive years. Mr. Ellis served as advisory director and the firm’s principal liaison and consultant with retailers around the world from 1994 to 2005.

From 1984 to 1991, Mr. Ellis was a Trustee of Prep for Prep, a non-profit organization dedicated to the furthering of minority education and served as Treasurer from 1987 to 1991. He was also a Trustee of The Brearley School from 1987 to 1990,  and served on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Ellis was Vice Chair of  the Board of Trustees of The New York State Nature Conservancy. He is on the Board of Directors of National Audubon Society, the Board of Trustees of RARE (a non-profit specializing in  conservation-driven social makerting and sustainable economic development in developing countries), the Governing Council of the Wilderness Society, and on the President’s Council of World Wildlife Fund. Mr. Ellis has served on the boards of directors of Coach, Inc. and Waterworks, Inc.

Mr. Ellis is author of “Ahead of the Curve: A Commonsense Guide to Forecasting Business and Market Cycles,” published in October 2005 by Harvard Business School Press.  He is also author of a “Birds in Wood and Paint: American Miniature Bird Carvings and Their Carvers, 1900-1970,” published in October 2009 by University Press of New England.