Prior to Centerview, Jim was Vice Chairman of the Board at The Procter & Gamble Company. Jim was formerly Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Gillette Company before the company’s merger with P&G in October 2005. He was elected to these positions at Gillette in January 2001, February 2001 and November 2003, respectively. Prior to Gillette, Jim had served since January 1998 as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabisco, which was acquired in December 2000 by Philip Morris Companies. Before joining Nabisco, Jim headed the $27 billion Worldwide Food group (“Kraft Foods”) of Philip Morris, where he was an Executive Vice President from 1994 to 1997. In that role, he was responsible for integrating Kraft and General Foods worldwide and for shaping the group’s domestic and international strategy and plans. Prior to that position, Jim served as President of Kraft and Oscar Mayer and oversaw the consolidation of these businesses into one company. He earlier had served as Senior Vice President of strategy and development at Kraft, President of Kraft Limited in Canada, and Senior Vice President of Kraft International. Jim began his career with the General Foods Corporation in 1970.
A graduate of Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, Jim earned an MBA degree from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Advantage Sales and Marketing, Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine, The Simply Good Foods Company, Met Life, Pfizer and Unifi, Inc. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Knox College and the University of Chicago. Jim is a member of the Advisory Council of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a Member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College. Previously, Jim was a member of the Board of Directors of Big Heart Pet Brands, Richelieu Foods, Nielsen, Delta Airlines, May Department Stores, The New York Times, Whirlpool, The International Executive Service Corps and The Grocery Manufacturers Association. He is also a former member of Citigroup’s International Advisory Board. Jim is based in Naples, FL.