James C. Rhee
About James C. Rhee
James Rhee is a high school teacher and Harvard Law graduate who became a private equity investor, unexpectedly acclaimed CEO, and a voice of global leadership. He bridges math with emotions by marrying capital with purpose. His transformational leadership has been recognized by the leading business and civic organizations. His upcoming book, entitled red helicopter―a parable for our times: lead change with kindness (plus a little math), will be published in April 2024 in partnership with Harper One, an imprint of HarperCollins that seeks multi-platform ideas that “transform, inspire, change lives, and influence cultural discussions.” He is working on related film, music, and television projects. His TED Talk and Dare to Lead interview with Brené Brown have captured the imagination of millions. red helicopter, his media-education platform of the same name, is an operating system—a way—, that creates, measures, and amplifies a sustainable balance of life, money, and joy in the life of business and the business of life. Its systematic impact has been informed by, successfully applied to, and further refined by decades of investing, leading, and teaching at the highest levels in a myriad of environments. red helicopter’s methodologies are grounded in the realities of history and policy, as well as the truths of finance, behavioral psychology, and cognitive science. It unlocks value in a systematically consonant way. It is taught and implemented in boardrooms, not to mention through his unprecedented appointments at MIT Sloan, Duke Law School, and Howard University, where he serves as the Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship. There is nothing that James teaches that he has not actually applied and accomplished in many different arenas. He's helped manage billions of dollars of private equity capital at elite firms and started his own family office, FirePine Group, which focused on inflection point situations. He won the highest award for CEO excellence granted by the National Retail Federation, and served on its board, and he is a winner of an award from the EY Entrepreneur of the Year program. James also serves as a charter member of the Advisory Council of JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways and an elected Founding Member of Ashoka E-to-E. He has served on numerous board and has been involved in some of the most defining private investments in consumer-retail over the past two decades. Before his career in business and finance, James Rhee was a high school teacher and an editor of Harvard Law Review. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College.