Josiah Wear Ellis (born November 16, 1957) is a former American football executive who was the president and CEO of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

College

Ellis received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

in 1980. He attended graduate school at the L. Kellogg School of Management at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

to obtain his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

. Joe graduated from Northwestern in 1988.

Career

Ellis began his career in the NFL with the

as their Director of Marketing from 1983 to 1985. After obtaining his master's degree, he served the league as Vice President of Club Administration and Stadium Management until rejoining the Broncos in 1998 as their Executive Vice President of Business Operations. Joe acted in this capacity for 10 years. In 2008, Joe became the team's Chief Operating Officer. He maintained this position for 3 seasons, until January 5, 2011. After 13 years with the organization, he was promoted to team president. After owner and previous president

Pat Bowlen Patrick Dennis Bowlen (February 18, 1944 – June 13, 2019) was a Canadian–American lawyer, executive and the majority owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted in the Pro F ...

was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Ellis took control of the team. In August 2022, Ellis stepped down from his position after the Walton Penner group was approved as the new owners of the Broncos.

Personal life

Ellis lives in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, with his wife, Ann. They have three children: two sons, Si and Zander, and a daughter, Catherine. He is also a member of the

Bush family The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...

through his mother

Nancy Walker Bush Ellis Nancy Walker Bush Ellis (February 4, 1926 – January 10, 2021) was an American environmentalist and political campaigner. She was the only sister of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and aunt of both former President George W. Bush and ...

, respectively making him the nephew and cousin of former US Presidents George H. W. Bush and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Ellis tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in November 2020.

Awards and honors

*Two-time Super Bowl champion ( XXXIII, 50) - as an executive with the

*Named ColoradoBiz's CEO of the Year in 2017 *Inducted into the Denver and Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame in 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Joe 1958 births Living people Bush family Businesspeople from Colorado Colorado College alumni Denver Broncos executives Kellogg School of Management alumni National Football League team presidents