Elliot Ross

Born January 8, 1946 to Rebecca (Peggy) and Herbert Ross, Elliot attended Cleveland Heights High School and later received a combined Bachelors and Masters of Science degree in welding engineering from the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University, where he was a member of multiple student honor societies, served in student government, and was awarded for his student leadership.

After graduation, Elliot worked at General Electric and attended Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University at night. After graduating with his Masters in Business Administration, Elliot joined McKinsey & Company as one of the firm’s first non-Ivy League hires, ultimately gaining partnership, leading the firm’s worldwide marketing practice, and founding the firm’s pricing practice. During this time, he also authored articles in several publications, including Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal.

Following McKinsey, Elliot co-founded and co-led Inverness Partners, which acquired, owned, and operated automotive suppliers, and for which work he was selected by Inc. Magazine as regional manufacturing Entrepreneur Of The Year. Subsequently, he served in an executive capacity and on the Boards of Directors of multiple public and private companies.

One of his deep passions was commercial excellence, and for the last 27 years of his career he and his business partner worked with clients around the world, teaching them how to improve their businesses and capture the full value of their offerings, through his boutique management consulting firm, The MFL Group. Not wanting to stop working, but also wanting to enjoy more time with family and friends, Elliot recently sought and found a strong group of additional partners with whom he was proud to work, joining forces with Actionist Consulting.

Another of his deep passions was supporting the educational institutions that helped shape him. For the last 15 years, Elliot served on a number of advisory boards and committees at both CWRU's Weatherhead School of Management and OSU’s College of Engineering. He was a member of OSU's Oval Society, and in 2010 he was awarded OSU's College of Engineering’s prestigious Meritorious Service Citation for both his advisory service to the College and more so for the establishment of the Ross Family Scholars program, the endowment from which provides scholarship stipends to at least 6 engineering students each academic year.

A member of The Temple-Tifereth Israel, Elliot was an exercise-, activity- and travel-enthusiast, who loved being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and supporting his alma mater, The Ohio State University — Go Bucks!

Elliot is survived by his wife of 5 years, Jill Selman Ross (nee Warsaw); children Katie Ross (Ben Sosa) of Huron and Doug (Elise) Ross of Raleigh, NC; granddaughter, Edelyn; bonus children Kelly (Eric) Davidson and David (Caroline) Selman; bonus grandchildren Parker Selman, Alison Selman, Emma Davidson, and Henry Davidson; sisters Saundra Mandel (nee Ross) of Los Angeles, and Deanna Katz (nee Ross) of Cleveland, and his many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his wife of 50 years, Carolyn Ross (nee Aaron).

His family welcomes those who wish to remember him to stop by to celebrate his life on January 11, from 2:00-4:30pm, at The Chagrin Valley Hunt Club, 7620 Old Mill Road, Gates Mills, OH 44040.

In lieu of flowers, the family would be honored by donations in Elliot’s memory to The Ross Family Scholars, Fund No. 646198, at The Ohio State University Foundation, P.O.Box 736096, Chicago, IL 60673-6096, or to any other cause about which you care deeply and want to support.

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