Albert Beckford Jones Joins American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Largest Pediatric Society in the World, as Director of Global Business Development

September 9, 2020

Albert Beckford Jones Joins American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as Director of Global Business Development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) announced the appointment of Albert Beckford Jones as Director of Global Business Development to lead the organization in global business development opportunities and technical partnerships with foreign governments, ministries of health, foundations, corporations, and institutions. Mr. Jones responsibilities include leveraging current external partners and the technical expertise of AAP’s members to promote AAP products, services, and trainings and to support AAP global programs “dedicated to the health of all children”. AAP Global currently has active programs in 28 countries spanning a variety of programmatic and training areas.

AAP is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois and maintains a its Department of Federal office in Washington, D.C. AAP was founded in 1930s and is currently an organization of 67,000 pediatricians “committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults”. It has the largest pediatric publishing program in the world, with more than 300 titles for consumers and over 500 titles for physicians and other health-care professionals. These publications include electronic products, professional references/textbooks, practice management publications, patient education materials and parenting books. The AAP News is the academy’s official newsmagazine, and Pediatrics is its flagship journal.

Since 2008, Mr. Jones has applied his extensive working knowledge and global cultural understanding to mission driven organizations dedicated to improving lives throughout the world for the benefit all people in the areas of health, STEM, research, and innovation and capacity building. Mr. Jones has served as the interlocutor for numerous U.S. institutions doing business with foreign entities, as an executive-level leader, and senior expert advisor.

Most recently, 2017-20 Mr. Jones was the Special Advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Research Competitiveness Program. AAA mission is advancing science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people. Mr. Jones assisted AAAS in their business development efforts with foreign governments, and institutions of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), research, innovation, and entrepreneurship; he is credited with laying the groundwork for AAAS successful  expansion into the Gulf region. The Association (an independent non-profit) is based in Washington, D.C.,  founded in 1848 and is the world’s largest general scientific society with more than 120,000 members (in 91 countries) and more than 260 affiliated societies globally encompassing more than 10 million scientists and engineers in industry, government, and academia. AAAS publishes the leading scientific journal, Science, and maintains offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.

On behalf of another U.S. institutions, notably the U.S. Civilian Research Development Foundation (CRDF Global), Mr. Jones was the former Senior Advisor to the President and Board of CRDF Global (2008-10)- an independent nonprofit foundation established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation (NSF), authorized by the U.S. Congress and active in over 30 countries. CRDF Global mission is to advance peace, and prosperity by funding civilian research and development projects.

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; to advance its mission of peace and prosperity throughout the world by funding civilian research and development project with the application of science and technology to achieve economic growth through international partnerships and training that foster invention, innovation, entrepreneurship and the commercialization of technology.

Mr. 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 Interagency 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, Mr. Jones was appointed the Manager of Business Development at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a multi-billion-dollar endowed, international co-educational graduate science and research university in Saudi Arabia, with over 100 nationalities among faculty, staff, researchers, students and residents: which is close to 60% of the nations around the world.  Mr. Jones is credited with establishing KAUST’s Business Development Department, associated with the university’s mission to advance science and technology through distinctive and collaborative research to serve as a catalyst for innovation, economic development, and social prosperity in the world.

From the period of 1990- 2007, Mr. Jones has held several strategic and leadership roles with oil, banking, manufacturing, and service-oriented companies (i.e. British Petroleum/BP, KeyBank, and First Chicago now known as JP Morgan Chase). Mr. Jones served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of General Motors Corporation’s largest international dealerships operations in the Middle East. And Mr. Jones has start-up leadership and has served as an advisor to a variety of domestic and international organizations on joint ventures matters in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and South America, as President of an independent international management and business development consulting company.

Adds Mr.  Jones: “our work is all about the health of all children, in the U.S. and globally and children – no matter where they are born – deserve to benefit from the expertise of AAP members and programs, services and products and expertise. I am incredibly pleased to join AAP and look forward to helping them to advance their vital mission.”.

Mr. Jones’ non-for-profit  board of director work in higher education and international organizations has included current Chairman Emeritus of Public Policy International Affairs Program (PPIA)- the largest higher educational diversity program in the United States in Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA); PPIA promotes the inclusion and full participation of underrepresented groups in public service to advance their leadership roles throughout U.S. civic institutions serving domestic and international affairs; it is comprised of over 50 of America’s leading university graduate schools in public policy and international affairs. Board member Council of International Programs (CIP) USA and Chicago  and 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 Chicago Committee (now known as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs).

Mr. Jones holds two masters’ degrees: the first master’s 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). 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.

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

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About AAP
AAP was founded in 1930s and is currently an organization of 67,000 pediatricians “committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults”. It has the largest pediatric publishing program in the world, with more than 300 titles for consumers and over 500 titles for physicians and other health-care professionals. These publications include electronic products, professional references/textbooks, practice management publications, patient education materials and parenting books. The AAP News is the academy’s official newsmagazine, and Pediatrics is its flagship journal. AAP Global currently has active programs in 28 countries spanning a variety of programmatic and training areas.