Jay Gentry

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Director of Engagement

Chmura Economics & Analytics

Jan 2026 - Jul 2026 (7 months)

• Advised C-suite and senior leaders across workforce boards, higher education institutions, and economic development organizations on data-driven strategy, managing multi-stakeholder relationships from outreach through program design.
• Maintained CRM pipeline discipline in HubSpot across a national client and prospect base.

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Business Development Director

National Association of Workforce Development Boards (NAWB)

Dec 2023 - Dec 2025 (2 years 1 month)

• Owned new business development and sponsor acquisition for a national portfolio of funding and programming partners, growing annual sponsorship revenue 73%, from a $262,000 to $453,000 baseline, in under two years.
• Originated the Vision Partner program, a new partner engagement and cash-contribution model succeeding the organization's prior Business and Industry Alliance membership structure, doubling annual cash contributions from partners.
• Built and represented a national pipeline of enterprise sponsors and partners at major industry conferences and partner councils, navigating the board- and committee-level consensus decision-making typical of membership associations.
• Prospected, pitched, and closed Arnold Ventures

Director, Strategic Partnerships

Lightcast

Apr 2021 - Oct 2023 (2 years 7 months)

• Built a new partner channel connecting labor market analytics to public-sector and institutional partners, including government agencies, economic development organizations, and workforce boards, prospecting and closing new accounts without an existing partner base to build on.
• Originated a new product enabling partner organizations to deliver skills-based digital credentials to entry-level workers at no added infrastructure cost, a consultative, value-added offering.

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VP, Global Strategy and Program Development

Tower Bridge International

Aug 2018 - Feb 2020 (1 year 7 months)

• Managed a partnership with the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS), a membership association of NC private schools, and Wake Forest University, convening a multi-stakeholder symposium to align leadership around shared strategy.
• Launched a new enterprise program at 6 NCAIS member schools within 8 months, on track for a 40% revenue increase before COVID-19 paused expansion, an early land-one, expand-across-the-network result.

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Director, EDvantage

ThreeW, Inc.

Jun 2017 - Aug 2018 (1 year 3 months)

• Rebuilt a discontinued international partnership program under a new brand, developing new curriculum for a credit-bearing partner program in Beijing.

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VP, Naviance Advantage

Hobsons, Inc.

May 2015 - Jun 2017 (2 years 2 months)

• Served as chief architect for a SaaS partnership platform connecting U.S. college admissions offices with international applicants, achieving a 100% retention rate for program graduates.

CEO, Wake Forest Advantage, LLC

Wake Forest University

Feb 2012 - Mar 2015 (3 years 2 months)

• Co-founded and led an executive-level joint venture between EdisonLearning and Wake Forest University, growing the partnership through two ownership transitions ahead of acquisition by Hobsons, Inc.

Regional VP, Business Development | GM, Asia-Pacific

EdisonLearning

Nov 2006 - Feb 2012 (5 years 4 months)

• Spearheaded the South Carolina Bridge Program, a statewide after-school initiative, from concept through implementation, securing state funding and approval through direct engagement with the South Carolina Department of Education.

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General Manager, Global Strategic Accounts

Lexmark International, Consumer Printer Division

Jun 1999 - Oct 2006 (7 years 5 months)

• Identified an untapped affinity marketing opportunity and closed a new PC-bundle contract with IBM Australia, quadrupling market share from 5% to 21%, a self-generated new-business win.
• Built a strategic OEM alliance with Legend Computers (now Lenovo), growing Lexmark's China printer market share from #4 to #1 and generating $100M+ in B2B revenue; received Lexmark's Make It Happen award for a 35% market-share gain.
• Led a global team of 6 senior sales managers with P&L and business-development responsibility, building strategic partnerships with Samsung, Sharp, and Fujitsu-Siemens.

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Jay Gentry

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