John McElligott

CEO, York Exponential, President and CEO, the Fortress Initiative and The Fortress Academy

John McElligott has always had a passion for helping and improving the quality of life of others. As a Marine, he was employed as a combat engineer during 9/11. Specializing in demolitions, explosives, construction and engineering, he also served as a SAW (squad automatic weapon) gunner and ultimately Squad leader. John was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant.

As Co Founder, Partner, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of Royal Square Development and CEO of the Squared Collective, John spearheaded technology, marketing, community engagement and investor relations as well as being a driving force in Business and Economic Development. Helping to grow the company from 4 employees to nearly 40 in 18 short months he also worked on the acquisition and development of more than 50 properties in downtown York including but not limited to the $1,650,000 Bond Building project and most recently the $14,000,000 Market Street Revitalization Project.

Previous to co-founding Royal Square Development and Construction, John served as CEO and Founder of two tech startups, The Usic and Shootstay. John led product development, hiring of technical talent and product deployment. As the primary fund raiser, John raised close to $500,000 from Accredited Angel investors as well as institutional Funding. John is also a graduate of the Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, Techcelerator program, with his company being the only graduate from that cohort to receive investment funding ($75,000).

John is also a sought after national speaker on exponential technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, economic development and disruption nationwide. John left Royal Square 2 years ago and is currently the President of the “The Fortress Initiative”, a non profit geared towards preparing communities for the 4th Industrial Revolution as well as the CEO of “The Fortress Academy” and “York Exponential”, a technology company that develops and leverages robotics, machine learning and AI.

Johns’ primary passion has been focused on the rise of third tier cities. As Founder of Royal Square Development, John spearheaded technology, marketing, community engagement and investor relations. Helping to grow the company from 4 employees to nearly 40 in 18 short months he also worked on the acquisition and development of more than 50 properties in downtown York including the $1,650,000 Bond Building project and most recently the $14,000,000 Market Street Revitalization Project.
Previous to co-founding Royal Square Development and Construction, John served as CEO and Founder of two tech startups, The Usic and Shootstay. John led product development, hiring of technical talent and product deployment.

Known professionally as a Vision Caster and Technical Futurist, John believes in the power of community networking through communication and technology. After leaving RSDC John has become a sought after national speaker on exponential technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, economic development and disruption. John is currently the President of The Fortress Initiative, a non profit geared towards promoting awareness of the 4th Industrial Revolution to rural and 3rd tier markets and is CEO of The Fortress Academy, Central PA’s First Licensed Coding Bootcamp. John is also CEO of York Exponential, a company that leverages technology and collaborative Robots, primarily for the Manufacturing Industry.

He views the struggles of York, and other third 3rd cities, as a reflection of the struggles of our nation as a whole, and feels it is his civic duty to tackle those problems on a community by community basis. By addressing these problems on a small scale, John feels confident that we can begin to make positive and lasting changes to not only our communities but to our nation. He believes technology should benefit the lives of all of our citizens regardless of race, education or socioeconomic position and is the cornerstone of a sound Economic Development model.