Jim James has been named by Ideal Industries Inc.'s board of directors as the company's president and chief executive officer. James was most recently president of ITW Building Components Group, a division of Illinois Tool Works.
James succeeds Dave Juday, who had been serving as interim president and CEO of Ideal since February when Robert Lane, the company's former president and chief executive officer, retired from the company as part of an arranged succession strategy. Juday will continue his role as chairman of the board.
“Jim comes to Ideal with an outstanding record of achievement and an excellent background in operations,” said Juday. “He also brings the domestic and international credentials that are critical at this stage of our growth. He is the right match for the leadership role at Ideal.”
In his 16 years with ITW, James worked across a broad range of industries including metal fabrication, aerospace, construction adhesives, and component manufacturing. His duties as president of ITW Building Components Group brought with it worldwide management and coordination of the group's business units in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia and South Africa.
“Ideal has world-class people, products and distributors, along with the proven ability to achieve category leadership in the electrical and data communications markets,” said James. “Ideal has a strong culture with a focus on teamwork. My goal is to provide leadership for the team so the company will achieve greater growth and success.” James received an MBA from Georgia State University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology (Manufacturing Engineering) from the University of Wisconsin.