James Cole, Jr. is the Founder and CEO of The Jasco Group, a global multidimensional investment management and services firm. Jasco invests in a range of industries and market segments, including through publicly traded securities, and focuses on social impact through investments in early-stage venture startups, entertainment industry assets, and philanthropic organizations.

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James serves on the Board and is the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of American International Group, Inc., a leading global insurance organization.

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James serves on the Board of Directors of Suited, Inc., which provides artificial intelligence solutions to professional services firms.

James serves on the National Board of Directors of Jumpstart, which provides language, literacy, and socio-emotional programming for preschool children from under-resourced communities.

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James serves on the Board of Directors of Native Son, whose mission is to harness the collective power of Black gay/queer men.

James serves on the Advisory Board of the National Student Legal Defense Network, which, through litigation and advocacy, works to advance students’ rights to educational opportunity and to ensure that higher education provides a launching point for economic mobility.

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James also serves on the Advisory Board of Fontanelle Academy of Early Learning, which provides high-quality infant childcare and early childhood education services to families.

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From January 2016 through January 2017, James was the US Delegated Deputy Secretary of Education and General Counsel. As Deputy Secretary, James served as the chief operating officer. James also oversaw the Department's work on President Obama's My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, which sought to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color.

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The US Senate confirmed James as the Department of Education’s General Counsel in December 2014.

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From 2011 until 2014, James served as the Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation.

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From 1996 to 2011, James worked at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City, where, in 2004, he became a partner in the corporate department. His practice focused primarily on mergers & acquisitions.

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Prior to Wachtell, James clerked for the Honorable Stephanie K. Seymour of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. 

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From 2004 through 2011, James served on the Board of Directors of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. From 2005 through 2011 he served on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep, a youth leadership development program that identifies and prepares students of color for the rigors of independent day and boarding schools.

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From 1990 through 1992, he was a financial analyst at GE Capital Corporation.

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James received his B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from The University of Chicago.