James W. Keyes

James W. Keyes is known internationally as a transformational leader in business, education and social change. Now spearheading several new tech start-ups, he has served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies; launched many new organizations and is a respected social entrepreneur.

James W. Keyes is a serial entrepreneur and executive having served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, launched many new organizations and is a respected social entrepreneur. Some of the sectors James Keyes extensive career involves for-profit side retail and consumer products, aerospace and hypersonic.

James W. Keyes is currently the chairman of Wild Oats Marketing LLC. Previously, Keyes served as Chief Executive Officer of 7-Eleven, Inc., and chairman and CEO of Blockbuster, Inc.

James W. Keyes Education
 

Jim Keyes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1955. The youngest of six children, he lived with his family in a small country home built by his father and grandfather. He went on to attend the College of the Holy Cross, which was close to his home. While in college, Keyes majored in political science and continued to work at McDonald’s. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, he graduated in 1977 cum laude. He took a year off to work full time and then entered a business-law program at New York’s Columbia University. During his first year in the business program, he served an internship with Gulf Oil, which offered him a job as soon as he finished his MBA.
 

James W. Keyes Professional Career

From 1980 to 1985, Keyes worked for the Gulf Oil Corporation (now called Chevron). Gulf Oil assigned James W. Keyes to corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh. He performed well and was steadily promoted. When Gulf merged with Chevron, Keyes joined Citgo Petroleum, which was owned by 7-Eleven (then known as Southland Corp.), and quickly moved up the corporate ladder. In 1996, Keyes was named chief financial officer. 

James W. Keyes was elected to the board the following year and became chief operating officer in 1998. In 2000, he was named president and CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc, a position he held until 2005. He retired from 7-Eleven when it was sold to Seven & I Holdings Co. As president and CEO, James W. Keyes implemented new retail systems technology that improved product assortment decisions.

James W. Keyes served as chairman and chief executive officer of Blockbuster, Inc., from 2007 to 2011. In 2007, Keyes helped Blockbuster to acquire Movielink, a streaming video service, to compete with Netflix and Apple TV.

While Blockbuster was positioned to retain dominance in home video, the financial market collapse of 2008 made it difficult for the company to succeed. With over $1billion in debt, the company was highly vulnerable to the economic downturn. Keyes led a restructuring of the company in bankruptcy and facilitated a sale to Dish Network.

The concept of education is really important to him,: it opens up doors, it allows him to understand things in a more complex way, deeper, it gives him the tools to better understand your surroundings, it means freedom.