Jesse M. “Jay” Tillman, III was appointed as a Deputy Commissioner for the North Carolina Industrial Commission in August of 2015 and reappointed in 2021.

Prior to his service to North Carolina, he was an attorney in private practice over sixteen years and focused on civil litigation, in both Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. He is admitted in both North Carolina and South Carolina, the U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has tried numerous jury and bench trials in the various courts of North Carolina.

Although he has concentrated his practice over the years in the areas of personal injury and construction, he also represented a number of businesses and individuals in real estate liability, commercial law, products liability, landlord/tenant law, and insurance good faith/bad faith.

While at Campbell University School of Law he received the Trial Advocacy Award from the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After graduation from UNC, Jay was commissioned as an officer of the U.S. Navy and flew EA-6B Prowlers in Operation Desert Shield and in post-Desert Storm operations. He transitioned to the reserve component of the U.S. Navy and as a commanding officer of several U.S. Navy reserve units achieved the rank of Captain. He retired in January of 2017 at that rank.

As a reservist, he was activated and mobilized for Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve and other operations in the Middle East and South America as a planner and analyst. He returned in 2015 from his final activation in which he served the Commander of U.S. Fifth Fleet and U.S. Navy Central Forces as his Safety and Operational Risk Officer, managing Occupational Safety and Health programs for the fleet while serving as a battle director for operations. An Eagle Scout, Jay continues to be active in scouting through serving the Mecklenburg Council as a District representative for Eagle Scout Boards of Review.

Jay began singing as a member of the The North Carolina Boys Choir and performed with various church youth and school choirs throughout North Carolina. While at the University, he sang twelve man a capella with the Clef Hangers and continued singing with various U.S. Navy choirs, including the N. A. T. C. Choir and The Turbotones. He is a tenor with the Charlotte Master Chorale, the chorus for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, served as the Treasurer for the Chorale, and is enjoying his twelfth season of performance.

He is married to the former Carolyn Kramer of Charlotte. They have two very active sons, James (19) and Joshua (17).