Elected: 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022
Current Term Ends: 2024
Committees: Executive (vice chair), Academics & Student Affairs (ex officio), Buildings & Grounds (ex officio), Governance & Compensation/Assessment (ex officio), Audit (ex officio), Finance and Investment (ex officio), Philanthropy & Engagement (ex officio), Marketing & Enrollment Strategy (ex officio)
Jim Nolan retired in 2017 from his position of executive vice president of Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), the U.S. subsidiary of Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, one of the top commercial bakers in the world. He earned a B.S. in health education (teaching) from Ithaca College in 1977.
Before joining BBU, Jim worked for a private equity investment firm and served as CEO of YoCrunch Yogurt. Previously, he was executive vice president and CEO of Sara Lee Fresh Bakery, a $2 billion division of the Sara Lee Corp., where he was responsible for sales, manufacturing, finance, human resources, and marketing. Prior to this role, he was executive vice president and CEO of Sara Lee's $2.1 billion food service division, where he developed and implemented sales, marketing, supply chain, and consolidating strategies that supported revenue growth and margin expansion.
Before joining Sara Lee, Jim spent 25 years working in the U.S. division of PepsiCo, where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including executive vice president of PepsiAmerica's U.S. business and senior vice president of sales and market development at Pepsi North America.
As a trustee, he currently serves as chair of the Governance Committee and chair of the Assessment and Compensation Committee. In 2016–2017, he led the Presidential Search Committee, the 15-member group which unanimously recommended to the board of trustees the hiring of Shirley M. Collado as the ninth president of Ithaca College. He also previously lent his talents to the President's Roundtable and the Athletics and Events Center National Committee.
He and his wife, Kathleen, reside in Lake Forest, Illinois. They have four children, one of whom graduated from Ithaca College in 2001.