Albert Beckford Jones, Special Advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Research Competitiveness Program

Albert B. Jones is Chairman and CEO Trading & Consulting International, Inc. (a Chicago based international business development, strategy implementation and management consulting company), and Chair Emeritus of national Public Policy International Affairs Program (PPIA).

Mr. Jones is, also, the Special Advisor to American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Research Competitiveness Program (RCP), based in Washington, D.C.  Albert Jones assists RCP (and other AAAS programs as requested) in their business development efforts with foreign governments, and institutions of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the Gulf region; he lays the ground work for international programmatic work and S&T collaboration. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society, headquartered, in Washington, D.C. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes some 252 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals in more than 91 countries around the globe. As the world’s most respected organization across the sciences, AAAS’s mission is to “advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.”

Since 2008, Albert Jones has applied his extensive working knowledge and cultural understanding to STEM and innovation capacity building in the MENA region; he served as the interlocutor for numerous U.S. institutions doing business with foreign entities. On behalf of U.S. institutions (notably the U.S. Civilian Research Development Foundation/CRDF Global) he was the former Senior Advisor to the President and Board of the CRDF Global- a nonprofit foundation established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation (NSF), authorized by the U.S. Congress and active in over 30 countries. Mr. Jones led CRDF’s international strategy and business development initiatives with foreign governments and STEM institutions to promote safety, security, and sustainability through cross-border programs and partnerships in science, technology, and innovation; his work also included joint ventures with U.S. companies with “offset” programs- tapping into international corporate social responsibility realm associated with foreign governments’ expenditures.

Albert Jones has, also, contributed to advance Science and Technology cooperation between nations, as an invited Observer, to the U.S. Department of State, OES/STC Inter-agency Working Group (IWG) at the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Science and Technology (S&T) Joint Committee Meeting (JCM)–charged with implementing the Science and Technology agreement between the U.S and Saudi Arabia (via the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology/KACST in 2010, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia).

In 2011-2013, Albert Jones was appointed the Manager of Business Development at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a multi-billion-dollar endowed, science and research university in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Jones is credited with establishing KAUST’s Business Development Department, where he wrote the policy for major commercial projects and designed the process to build business cases and feasibility studies to commercialize STEM concepts. For instance, one such project involved a study of the global demand and supply of desalinated water; Albert Jones built the business case to transform and commercialize projected excess desalinated water capacity into bottled water through the application of certain technologies and innovative processes; he led major business opportunities to attract investors to generate long-term revenue, support capital and operation requirements, and lessen the University’s dependence on its endowment.

Albert Jones, 60, holds two masters’ degrees: the first masters’ degrees in Economics focused on international economic development (from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee), where he, earned a bachelor’s degree, also, in Economics (and was student body president, member of the university’s board of trustees, recipient of Princeton University Foundation for Communication- Business Today, inter-collegiate division 1 athlete, and the keynote speaker at Inauguration of the Chancellor… e.g. Part I and Part II ). He earned his second master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis and Management (from University of Chicago), as an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow; he studied at the Harvard Kennedy School under fellowship funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Over the course of three decades of Albert Jones’ career, he has served as an executive, entrepreneur, and advisor in industries. From 2006-2007, he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director of General Motors’ largest operations in the Middle East (Aljomaih/AAC), and one of their largest in the world; he oversaw the financial, human resource and administrative affairs of more than 3000 employees associated with $3 billion in assets. In banking and investment management, Albert Jones was the senior vice president of corporate strategy for Key Corp. when Key Bank merged with Society Bank to form a $68 billion institution; corporate planning officer for the executive management and vice chairman of First Chicago – now J.P. Morgan Chase; a licensed international financial advisor in Merrill Lynch’s Global Private Client Group. In the oil industry, he was a special business analyst for the executive management and former chairman of British Petroleum (BP).  As an entrepreneur, Albert Jones has start-up leadership. He served as an advisor to senior management on international strategy and new business and programmatic opportunities in higher education, aerospace, investment banking, international (diversified) family owned conglomerates, and small & medium enterprises (SMEs) sectors, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) innovations and entrepreneurship organizations.

Mr. Jones’ non-for-profit  board of director work in higher education and international organizations has included membership and senior advisor to Council of International Programs (CIP) USA and Chicago board of directors, respectively; national Public Policy International Affairs Program (PPIA); former trustee of Hampshire College, Lake Erie College, Cleveland State University Foundation, Cleveland Music School Settlement, Cleveland Council on World Affairs and Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations; member of the China Advisory Group, member of Chicago Committee (now known as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs). Albert Jones has been invited to speak at various international forums about economic growth in emerging markets as a form to reduce poverty (e.g. Part 1 and Part II).

Albert Jones and his wife, a retired professor of 19^th century American and British literature, reside in Chicago and have one daughter, who is an award-winning international broadcast journalist focused on underreported news.