Jim Chew is a transformational leader with a record of consistent achievement. He is a combat veteran, Fortune 500 Executive, and Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, Speaker and Trainer. He is the CEO and Founder of Ranger XLR8 Leadership. He is a certified behavioral analysis consultant.
From humble beginnings in a blue-collar family to Executive Leadership roles in both Fortune 500 companies and mid-cap Private Equity companies, he has a lifetime of experiences to share.
He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating as a second lieutenant in 1983. He served in a wide range of assignments including the Demilitarized Zone in Korea, where he was tasked with high-profile assignments during the 1984 Rice Exchange with North Korea. He made a combat parachute assault in Operation Just Cause with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He later prepared Army Reserve units for deployment in Desert Storm. He is an inaugural recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, recognizing company-grade officers who demonstrate MacArthur’s ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country” and have a proven track record of extraordinary performance, leadership and achievement.
Post-military, he has a 30-year career in engineering, sales, marketing and general management assignments in multiple industries. He has led teams in over 70 countries as the VP of the Eastern Hemisphere for Nalco Champion, an Ecolab company. As a CEO, he has led two private equity companies. He is currently the CEO of JRI Industries, Inc., where he led a turnaround effort of a 2d chance company employing formerly incarcerated felons, recovering addicts, and veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
As a volunteer, he is the founding President of the Space City Futbol Club. He has been a Cub Master, Assistant Scout Master, and Life to Eagle advisor for the Boy Scouts of America. He has led fundraising at his church and for the Valero Benefit for Children.
He embraces the “warrior-scholar” ethic, attending the London Business School and the Stanford Design School Master of Innovation series. He has a certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from the NeuroLeadership Institute. He is a graduate of Wharton’s AI for Decision Making: Business Strategies and Applications program. He is a recipient of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy’s medal for excellence in US History and Leadership.
He currently focuses on growth and market entry strategy, change management, and leadership, and supports various veteran-focused non-profit organizations.
