James Rhee

Why you should listen

James Rhee catalyzes and transforms people, brands and organizations by identifying and unleashing purpose with mathematical and creative systems. As an unlikely first-time CEO, Rhee reinvented Ashley Stewart, a brand serving and employing predominantly Black women, through the operationalization and measurement of core values and intangible assets such as goodwill. The results serve as tangible proof of the power of diverse ecosystems and a blueprint for a more collective form of capitalism. His current venture, Red Helicopter, is a global platform for individuals, and their families and organizations, interested in co-creating an ecosystem bridging the systems of money, life and joy through kindness.

Rhee is the John H. Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship and senior advisor of the Global Women’s Center at Howard University. He is also a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and executive-in-residence at the MIT Leadership Center. He earned his AB with honors from Harvard College and his JD with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of Harvard Law Review. He is a longtime impact investor and former high school teacher. He is working on a book.