College of Business Alumni Awardees

E. Davon Kelly ’90 is president and CEO of NOVAD Management Consulting. While earning his bachelor’s degree in finance, Mr. Kelly learned about teamwork and sportsmanship on the basketball courts at Florida Tech. As he ventured into the business world, he brought those same lessons with him and has since shared them in his book, From Courtside to the Boardroom: A Legacy in the Making. Mr. Kelly donates all the proceeds from his book sales to The 13th Man, an organization he founded to provide training, mentoring, leadership development, and enrichment activities to move young men from feeling inadequate to feeling like part of the “starting lineup.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Kelly has continued to leverage his business acumen, opening My Barber’s Lounge, a chain of upscale barbershops in Maryland. The barbershops, which won the 2014 Ford Motor Co. Neighborhood Award, have become additional vehicles through which he mentors and supports the development of successful entrepreneurs.

Mr. Kelly earned his MBA from Bowie State University in 1995. He is a member of the board of directors for Boys Town of Washington, D.C., and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. In addition, he is a member of Bowie State University’s Entrepreneurship Academy Advisory Council.