California State University San Diego
Jessie J. Knight, Jr. is managing director of Knight Angels LLC, a private equity fund devoted to anonymous financial support of community improvement projects that are led by innovative minority, women and military veteran leaders. He formerly served as Sempra Energy’s executive vice president of external affairs, chief sustainability officer and chairman of San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company. Mr. Knight currently co-chairs a national task force to create jobs in distressed U.S. cities with energy and infrastructure project investments. Previously, Mr. Knight was president and chief executive officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Representing more than 400,000 employees, it is the largest business organization in California and the third largest Chamber of Commerce in the western U.S. Mr. Knight also served as vice president of Marketing for the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner newspapers where he won five Clio Awards for television, radio and print advertising, and a Cannes Film Festival Golden Lion Award for business marketing.
Mr. Knight was the governor-appointed commissioner for the California Public Utilities Commission. In various personal and professional capacities, he has been an ardent spokesperson to elevate the nation’s energy policy. Prior to his gubernatorial appointment, he was the executive vice president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, responsible for international programs and economic and business development. In this role, he organized the original investor group to buy the San Francisco Giants, and helped orchestrate the approval and construction of the current baseball stadium where the Giants now play. He also has served on the boards of the Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Southern California Leadership Council, the UC San Diego Foundation, the San Diego Padres and the Timken Museum of Art, where he is board chair.
In 2013, the Corporate Directors Forum named Mr. Knight Director of the Year for Corporate Citizenship. He received the President’s Leadership Award for Regional Partnership from the Southern California Association of Governments, the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization. Mr. Knight retired from corporate life in 2016. Mr. Knight is a graduate of St. Louis University, a fellow of the University of Madrid and holds a master of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Order of St. John.
In recognition of his extraordinary achievements and as an inspiration to students at San Diego State University, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San Diego State University are proud to confer upon Jessie J. Knight, Jr. the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.