Jonathan Kelly, founder and CEO of Asymmetric Holdings Worldwide, and Barron Thompson L’09, serving as a judge for N.C. District Court 37, joined the group of prominent attorneys and business leaders who counsel the School of Law.
An Elon Law alumnus serving as a North Carolina District Court judge and a Greensboro-based businessman are the two newest members of a board that helps advance Elon Law’s vision and mission.
Jonathan Kelly, founder and CEO of Asymmetric Holdings Worldwide (AHW), and the Hon. Barron Thompson L’09 serving a second term as District Court judge for N.C. District Court 37, joined the Elon University School of Law Advisory Board this spring. They attended their first semiannual meeting of the 21-member board March 26-28.
The School of Law’s advisory board offers strategic guidance to university and Elon Law administrators as they continue to innovate programs and curriculum. The board is chaired by Ellen Gregg, an accomplished attorney who successfully litigated cases at all levels of state and federal courts and retired partner of Womble Bond Dickinson in Winston-Salem.
“Judge Thompson and Mr. Kelly bring valuable insights to our advisory board,” said Elon Law Dean Zak Kramer. “Their experiences will create connections in the profession and lead us to innovate as the premier law school for practical training and experiential learning. We’re grateful to have them on board.”
Jonathan Kelly
Greensboro, North Carolina
Founder and CEO of Asymmetric Holdings Worldwide (AHW)
Jonathan Kelly established Greensboro-based investment company Asymmetric Holdings Worldwide (AHW) following more than two decades working with closely held multinational firms and their family offices. Kelly holds Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration degrees from Harvard University, earned his undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University and graduated from Greensboro’s James Benson Dudley High School. His expertise includes principal investment, mergers and acquisitions and capital allocation strategies, with roles at Orient Global, Koch Industries, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, HBK Investments and with the Heinz family.
Kelly currently serves on corporate boards of Viet Thai International JSC, Triad Business Bank and Quintet. He previously served on the boards of CULP Inc. and Grupo SALA. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization in the Southern 7 Chapter and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), where he is a NACD Board Leadership Fellow, NACD Directorship Certified and a Subject Matter Expert with the NACD Certification Program. He resides in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife, Suzanne, and their two young children.
Barron Thompson
Asheboro, North Carolina
District Court Judge, North Carolina District Court 37
A member of Elon Law’s inaugural class of 2009, the Hon. Barron Thompson has a rich history with the school. He has served on Elon Law’s Alumni Council and delivered the convocation address to the Class of 2025. A first-generation college student, he graduated from UNC-Greensboro in 2001 and taught high school for several years before enrolling at Elon Law.
While earning his Juris Doctor, Thompson completed all four legal concentrations and was active with the Law School Republicans, Federalist Society and the Delta Theta Phi professional law fraternity. He was first elected as judge for N.C. District Court 37 in 2020 and reelected to a second term in 2024. Prior to that, he was active in the community as an attorney, as a civil District Court arbitrator and a member of the Randolph County Board of Elections. He also is a former adjunct professor at UNC-Greensboro in the Political Science Department teaching introduction to law. He and his wife, Emily, reside in Asheboro, North Carolina with their two children.
About Elon University School of Law
Elon Law in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement for all full-time students during the winter or spring of their second year. The law school’s distinctive curriculum offers a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their careers.
Elon Law has graduated more than 1,500 alumni since opening its doors in 2006. Its annual enrollment now tops 440 students and the law school is regularly featured in PreLaw Magazine’s “Best Schools for Practical Training” rankings, remaining in the Top 10 list for three consecutive years.
The Elon Law Flex Program, a part-time, in-person program of legal study for working professionals, launched in Fall 2024 at Elon University’s Charlotte campus.