David G. Ellison is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, who graduated from Furman in 1972 and obtained an M.B.A. from the Clemson-Furman program in 1976. He is a Wealth Management Advisor for Northwestern Mutual and co-owns an employee benefits firm.  For 28 years he was Managing Director of the Northwestern Mutual office in Greenville.

He is a former trustee of the United Way of Greenville County where he has chaired the leadership giving arms, Palmetto Society and Tocqueville Society. He also is past chair of the YMCA Endowment Corporation. Dave was a member of the transition team for former South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley. He is a director of Southern First Bank, past chair of the Furman Board of Trustees, and past president of both the Alumni Association and the Paladin Club. In 1992, he was elected to the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dave and his wife, Frances, have three sons.