“Roderick ‘Rod” Chappell
Associate Program Director
Howard University & PNC Bank National Center for Entrepreneurship
Clark Atlanta University – Regional Center

Rod Chappell serves as Associate Director for one of four regional centers designed to broaden participation in entrepreneurship for students, faculty/staff, alumni and communities affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Chappell supports efforts in the Southeast region which encompasses the 30 HBCUs in Georgia, Alabama, Florida and the US Virgin Islands. While supporting national and regional programming, Chappell leads the center’s efforts in tech entrepreneurship with a focus on expanding the use of artificial intelligence in small businesses.

Prior to this role, Chappell led one of the three Pillars for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). MUREP was designed to increase competitiveness at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Pillar provided leadership, best practices, research, support and training for underrepresented and underserved communities. A key product was a repository of MSI data featuring capture management and information sharing.

Chappell is also a 25-year veteran and entrepreneur in the marketing, promotions and communications arena. In 2001, he revolutionized the promotions marketplace by forming Grassroots Promotions (GP), a full-service marketing strategy firm specializing in targeted events and promotions. The first of its kind specializing in the African-American and Hispanic consumer marketplace, GP is designed to be the link between managers of corporations and grassroots-level marketing programs in the urban community.

In 2002, GP partnered with Black Entertainment Television (BET) to launch the award-winning
BET Black College Tour creating awareness for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) to
international audiences for 13 years. The Tour touched over 100,000 HBCU students annually. Under
Chappell’s leadership, GP handled all aspects of the events including business development, securing and
managing corporate partners, managing budgets, securing talent, hiring staff, securing venues and
relationship development. Chappell was the recipient of P&G’s 1st Multi-Cultural Pioneer Award in 2007.

For nearly a decade, Chappell has connected corporations and government agencies with HBCU’s to help institutions reach their desired goals. Since 2010, HD has helped Morehouse College, Tennessee State, North Carolina Central, Virginia State, Alcorn State, Alabama A&M, Clark Atlanta, Norfolk State and Prairie View A&M with successful homecoming events. In 2013, HD launched internet television platform, HBCU Stream, focused on content from the HBCU community. It has recently been relaunched using gamification and blockchain technology. Chappell was named “CEO of the Year” in 2017 for Georgia companies. In 2021, Chappell launched The Yard HBCU Esports® Alliance initiative to build a platform for HBCU gaming and esports activities. He also relaunched Quetis® in 2024 as an AI-avatar platform to simplify global personal and small business branding.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Chappell worked as Senior Vice President of Client Development for IMG Host Communications, a Lexington-based sports and events marketing company that managed the State Farm Bayou Classic. Chappell also served as a marketing manager for Pert Plus at Procter & Gamble (P&G) on sports and multicultural initiatives. Prior to P&G, he was a Senior Consultant for Accenture.

Chappell is a Master of Business Graduate of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts graduate of Morehouse College, Department of Business. Chappell travels the nation as guest speaker for various business workshops and conferences, speaking about a principle he founded entitled “In Your Place Marketing.” He currently serves as a consultant and advisor for many current and future CEO’s. He is also penning a book entitled “”HBCU CEO: Passion To Profit.”””