Retired Air Force Colonel Chris ‘Elroy’ Stricklin is the founding president of Dunn University. Before joining the Dunn Family of Businesses, he was a partner at Afterburner, INC. where he led a team of more than 70 former fighter pilots, Navy\s SEALs and other Special Forces members to teach corporations around the world how to utilize the same techniques that created military leaders and developed elite teams in the high-stakes environment of combat. He is a combat-proven senior military leader retiring after 23 years which culminated with CEO-level leadership of a 7,000-person strong, $7B worldwide organization. During this time, he was responsible for 11,383 personnel, #323M payroll, $160M contracts, creation of 1,891 jobs and local economic impact of $566M. His style combines his unique experience as a USAF Thunderbird Solo Pilot coupled with CEO-Level duties and Pentagon-level strategic management of critical Air Force resources valued at $840B, multiple NATO assignments, White House and DARPA fellowships, and command-experience in the United States Air Force to uniquely lead Dunn University into their next century of construction excellence. 

Chris is a business executive and three-time bestselling leadership author as well as a highly sought after motivational keynote speaker. In the role as President of Dunn University, he as the responsibility to recruit, train, develop and retain the best workforce possible int he Southeasten United States.

In this role, he partnered with he Alabama Community College System to pioneer revolutionary methods of training Alabamians in new careers with livable wages and career c=progression pathways. This not only allows Alabamians a plethora of new opportunities, it also grows the trained workforce pool to enable expansion of Alabama industries and companies. As of April 2024, over 16,000 students have enrolled and over 5,000 credentials have been earned through these offerings at the ACCS Innovation Center. As a result of his workforce efforts, Chris has been appointed by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to the Alabama Workforce Board and testified before Congress in 2024 on these same initiatives.