Dr. Jim White is an industrialist, philanthropist, and Vietnam Army combat veteran. He is Chairman and CEO of Post Harvest Technologies, Inc. and Founder and CEO of JL White International, LLC, and JL White Investments, LLC. He is also the Founder and CEO of PHT Investment Group and PHT Growth Fund, which are private equity impact investment platforms. All these companies are part of his larger group of companies that operate within the critical fresh produce post-harvest infrastructure space with a mission to ensure fresh produce and fruit get from field to table via a safe, secure supply chain.
Jim is the author of several acclaimed books, including Broken America: Ten Guiding Principles to Restore America and Opportunity Investing: How to Revitalize Urban and Rural Communities with Opportunity Funds. He also authored the best-selling What’s My Purpose? A Journey of Personal and Professional Growth, which has been lauded by industry leaders such as Steven M.R. Covey and Jack Canfield.
At age five, Jim found his entrepreneurial spirit when he launched his first business: collecting and selling Coke bottles to help support his impoverished family. From these humble beginnings, Jim volunteered to serve his country in the Vietnam War, where he completed two tours of active combat duty. He was injured, yet he went on to enter academia and the corporate world. He went from high school dropout to academic triumph, eventually earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering, an MBA, and a PhD in Psychology and Organizational Behavior.
Jim’s leadership and business acumen have earned him international recognition. He served as the CEO of Blount World Trade Corporation, owned and managed ACEC Centrifugal Pumps NV in Belgium, and was Vice President and Division Manager at Ingersoll Rand Equipment Corporation.
As part of his vision for leadership and mentorship, Jim founded the customized yearlong management and leadership transformation process, The Circle of Success; Jim White’s Classic Movie Series; and The Red Carpet Tour. These innovative events have attracted over 100,000 participants worldwide, including Fortune 500 CEOs, management teams, entrepreneurs, governments, and trade associations.
He has bought, expanded, and sold 23 companies operating in 44 countries throughout his career. Jim acquired failing businesses to revive and develop them into profitable enterprises using his proprietary business turnaround strategy. To date, he has generated more than $1.8 billion in revenue.
With a keen awareness of the economic and social challenges that continue to plague communities like the ones in which he spent his childhood, Jim is a generous and passionate supporter of several charities and nonprofits.
He is deeply involved with Rancho Cielo, a Salinas, CA-based nonprofit that aims to keep young first-time offenders from becoming repeat offenders, with comprehensive learning, vocational training, and social services programs for the greater region’s underserved youth, many of whom faced significant adversity, from incarceration and homelessness to hunger and poverty, before finding a supportive community at Rancho Cielo.
Another cause close to Jim’s heart is Niño de la Caridad Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering and improving the quality of life for the predominantly Hispanic youth and families of the Bronx, NY. NDLC nurtures Latino children’s social and academic skills and prepares them to become future leaders. Both Jim and his wife, Janice Parker, are on its advisory board and are leading donors.
As he is politically minded, Jim also sits on the governing board of Latino Victory Fund, an organization dedicated to building political power within the Latino community. Latino Victory Fund aims to reflect Latino voices and values at every level of government.
Jim believes in democracy, decency, and the values upon which our nation was founded. He works tirelessly to fix what is broken in America.
