Ellen Davis is the executive vice president of industry engagement at the Consumer Brands Association. Having spent her entire career in consumer-facing industries, Davis brings a wealth of knowledge to the task of creating an impactful membership experience worthy of the industry whose products consumers depend on every day.
Davis is an industry leader with more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, research, talent acquisition and development, as well as organizational change management. She has a track record of designing and building solutions to complex problems for maximum benefit for myriad stakeholders. She is one of the people widely credited with coining the phrase “Cyber Monday,” now considered the official kickoff of the online holiday shopping season, and has appeared frequently on broadcast news programs including Fox News, CNBC, CNN and ABC News.
Davis joined Consumer Brands from the National Retail Federation, where she served as senior vice president of strategic initiatives and president of the NRF Foundation. In her role, she oversaw a team charged with shaping retail’s future through education, training, scholarships and experiences for job seekers of all ages and backgrounds, resulting in the introduction of several game-changing initiatives and programs that helped reimagine the purpose and objective of the organization. Davis conceptualized and launched the NRF Foundation Honors, an event that raised $15 million to fund the foundation’s efforts in a five-year period. She also led the launch of RISE Up, the NRF Foundation’s training and credentialing program to help people secure jobs in retail and advance into meaningful careers, which saw 75,000 participants in its first three years.
Davis joined NRF in 2002 as manager of media relations and rose quickly through the communications and public affairs team before assuming additional responsibilities which included building NRF’s research department, overseeing event content and leading the NRF Foundation. Prior to NRF, Davis served as a managing associate with Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates and an assistant project manager with JC Dolan & Associates.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Millikin University and an executive MBA from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. Davis lives with her family in Arlington, Virginia. As a mom of two boys, you’ll most often find her in the laundry aisle.