Carl Brooks

Carl Brooks is the President & Chief Executive Officer of The Executive Leadership Council and its 501 (c) 3 affiliate, The Executive Leadership Foundation. He became President in 2001 after a 25 year career in the energy industry, becoming CEO September of 2005. He performs his duties as CEO of the two organizations in accordance with their budgets, by-laws and policies. Since assuming leadership, Mr. Brooks has provided strategic direction that has led to increased membership and a realignment of the organization’s programs to help create a comprehensive inclusive leadership pipeline that develops senior corporate leaders from the classroom to the boardroom. He has also been instrumental in establishing fiscal policies that have solidified the organization’s financial position while securing millions of new dollars in funding to support the organization’s strategic goals and day-to-day operational needs.

Under his leadership, Mr. Brooks has focused on building the image of the organization on a national and international level. He has launched a series of new program initiatives, while reinvigorating some of the Council’s traditional program offerings. He launched The Executive Leadership Council’s Institute for Leadership Development & Research, an initiative developed to provide cutting-edge training and research for African American senior executives and high potential corporate and non-profit leaders to reach career breakthrough performance. Mr. Brooks served as Chairman of The Executive Leadership Foundation’s Board of Directors (1999-2001) before becoming President of the organization.

Prior to his position with The Executive Leadership Council and The Executive Leadership Foundation, Mr. Brooks was Vice President of Human & Technical Resources at GPU Energy. He was responsible for the business process that provided the people, services, materials and technology, which enabled the success of GPU Energy’s infrastructure business. Within this process, he was responsible for Human Resources, Labor Relations & Safety, Materials & Services and Information Technology. Prior to that, he served as CFO of GENCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of GPU. While there, he helped reorganize the company and build an assets portfolio of over $3.5 billion dollars while reducing overhead costs significantly. Additionally he was Chairman of the GPU Diversity Action Council, which was responsible for the development and implementation of GPU’s diversity strategy, winning the EEI Award for Diversity.

Mr. Brooks has served on the Board of Directors of the following organizations:

Ameristar Casinos Inc.; GPU Generation Company (GENCO) Board of Directors and The Executive Leadership Council, The Executive Leadership Foundation; National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC); Howard University Board of Visitors Vice Chair; Hampton University Board of Advisors Vice Chair; the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD); the Chamber of Commerce; Princeton Center Leadership Group, Virginia High-Tech Partnership; and National Minority Golf Scholarship Fund.

He is a member of the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Diversity Council, American Society of Association Executives, the National Black MBA Association and the National Urban League’s Best Diversity Practices Study Advisory Council. Mr. Brooks also served as the Honorary Chair of the 35th Anniversary of the School of Business, Howard University and was a 2004 recipient of the EEOC’s Spirit of Partnership Award.

Education and Honors: Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Richmond Virginia Seminary, 2005 Tuck Executive Program, Amos Tuck Business College, Dartmouth, 1990 Master Business Administration (MBA), Southern Illinois University, 1976 Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, Cum Laude Bachelor of Science, Hampton Institute, 1971, Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, Cum Laude Post Graduate Studies, University of Iowa, 1981