Bert Ellis

Bert Ellis is an active entrepreneur in the media and technology industries, having founded and operated numerous companies, both private and public. He has managed high growth companies and achieved significant returns for his investors. Ellis primarily manages acquisitions, strategic relationships, and fund raising for his companies but has also been integrally involved in programming, sales and operations, engineering and capital expenditures.

From 2001 until 2002, Ellis served as the Vice-Chairman and a Director of Scient, Inc., a company formed in November 2001 by the merger of Scient Corp. and iXL Enterprises. Ellis founded iXL in 1996 and served as its Chairman until the merger with Scient. IXL and Scient were IT consulting firms focused on internet integrations for Fortune 500 companies. From a standing start in 1996, iXL and Scient grew to a global company with a combined market cap of almost $6B with a $1B per year revenue run rate, 58 offices and over 6000 employees.

Prior to founding iXL, Ellis founded and served from 1993 to 1996 as President and CEO of Ellis Communications, an Atlanta-based company that owned and operated thirteen television stations, two radio stations and Raycom, a sports production and marketing firm. Ellis Communications was purchased in September 1996 for $840M and now operates as Raycom Media.

From 1986 to 1992, Ellis founded and served as President and CEO of Act III Broadcasting, a broadcast group comprised of eight Fox-affiliate television stations. Act III Broadcasting was sold to Sullivan Broadcasting in 1995 for $530M.

Prior to Act III, Ellis served as the Director of Marketing and the Director of National Cable Sales for Turner Broadcasting and prior to that as the Director of Program Budgeting for Home Box Office.

Ellis has served on numerous civic and charitable boards including the Board of Trustees of the University of Virginia Graduate Business School, the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the San Diego Zoo. Mr. Ellis holds a MBA from the UVA Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia. Ellis has been married for 31 years to Deborah Hicks Ellis and has two daughters, Callie and Brent.