Jim has spent his career managing global projects in Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Micronesia, Philippines, France and the United States. With more than 45 years in the information technology industry, Jim has a wide range of experience including project management, strategic planning, business process improvement and development of business technology solutions.Jim's 12-year public administration career with the United States Foreign Service Diplomatic Corps included several appointments in the Asia/Pacific region. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technologies and a graduate of the U.S. Federal Executive Institute's Public Administration program.In addition to his public service, Jim has gained extensive knowledge and experience in the private sector. Jim successfully managed mission-critical projects in the transportation, petrochemical, entertainment, distribution/logistics, insurance and securities/investment banking industries.After a three-year stint in Japan as creator and head of the Program Management Office for a professional services company in Tokyo, Jim co-founded PM-Global K.K. During this time, he was a founding member of Tokyo's Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). (In 1989 he achieved the globally recognized Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.)During 2010, in collaboration with Dr. Sourav Kundu, Jim established Knowledge Solutions Group's North American LLC as a strategic and IV&V Program Management consulting service provider with a focus on the USA's High-Speed Rail development along with California's Transportation and Logistics industry.Having earned the distinguished status as a legal "permanent resident" in Japan, Kagoshima has become Jim's life-long dream home area.