Crystal E. Ashby Named The Executive Leadership Council’s Interim President and CEO

Today The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) announced that the board of directors has chosen Crystal E. Ashby to serve as The ELC’s interim president and chief executive officer. Ashby is taking over for Skip Spriggs, who served as president and chief executive officer since March 2018 and retired at the end of 2019. She is the first woman president and CEO of the organization.

Ashby will take over the organization’s efforts to increase the number of global black executives in C-suites, on corporate boards, and in global enterprises. The ELC is the preeminent membership organization for black CEOs, board directors, and the most senior black executives at Fortune 1000, Global 500 and equivalent companies and opens channels of opportunity for the development of black executives to positively impact business and communities.

“My association with The ELC goes back more years than I would like to admit,” says Ashby. “I have such a strong affinity for this organization, our members, and its purpose and mission. I am honored to have this opportunity to help The ELC pursue its Strategic Vision 2021 and commitment to excellence, particularly as we look towards our 35th anniversary in 2021.”

Ashby is an independent director on the Board of Texas RE (Texas Reliability Entity Inc.) and serves on the University of Michigan College of Engineering Dean’s Leadership Advisory Board, where she is chair of the Diversity and Equity and Inclusion Council. She is an NACD Fellow and member of the International Women’s Forum. Ashby recently resigned from the National Board of Genesys Works, the Holocaust Museum Houston Board, and Women Business Collaborative Board upon assuming her new role at The ELC.

Ashby earned her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and holds a bachelor of arts degree, with a double major in English and psychology, from the University of Michigan.

“Having experienced The ELC’s leadership development programs early in her career, benefiting from the mentoring and sponsorship provided by senior leaders of The ELC and rising through the ranks of corporate leadership to become an active member of the organization, Crystal embodies the values and culture of The ELC,” said Tonie Leatherberry, chair of The Executive Leadership Council and Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and President of the Deloitte Foundation in a statement.

“She has served The ELC as Chair of the Audit Committee, was an ex-officio member of the Governance Committee, was formerly Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, and was a past voting member of the Governance Committee. Crystal will guide the organization with a steady hand through its transition.”