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James W. Keyes

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Not to be confused with Jim Keays.
James W. Keyes
Born (1955-03-17) March 17, 1955 (age 69)
Grafton, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationCollege of the Holy Cross (BS)
Columbia University (MBA)
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1980–present
TitleChairman of Wild Oats Markets
CEO of 7-Eleven (2000–2005)
CEO and chairman, Blockbuster (2007–2011)

James W. Keyes (born March 17, 1955) is an American businessman who is the chairman of Wild Oats Marketing LLC. Previously, Keyes served as chief executive officer (CEO) of 7-Eleven and was the chairman and CEO of Blockbuster.[1]

Early life and education

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Keyes was born on March 17, 1955, in Grafton, Massachusetts.[2] He was the youngest of six children born to parents who were factory workers that separated when he was a child. Keyes' father, who taught him how to make deposits and withdrawals at a bank, died prematurely. Keyes was raised in central Massachusetts, where his family lived in a three-room house that lacked plumbing.[3]

Keyes attended Millbury High School before being educated at the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree.[4][5] He helped to defray his expenses in college by working a shift at McDonald's.[3] In 1980, he earned a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Columbia Business School.[4][5]

Career

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From 1980 to 1985, Keyes worked for the Gulf Oil Corporation (now called Chevron).[6] Keyes joined CITGO Petroleum in 1985, which was then a subsidiary of 7-Eleven, Inc.[6] In May 1996, he became the chief financial officer of 7-Eleven Inc.[7] In 1998, he became chief operating officer of the company.[7]

In 2000, Keyes was appointed president and CEO of 7-Eleven, a position he held until 2005.[8] He retired from 7-Eleven when it was sold to Seven & I Holdings Co.[9] As president and CEO, Keyes implemented new retail systems technology that improved product assortment decisions.[10]

Keyes served as chairman and chief executive officer of Blockbuster, Inc., from 2007 to 2011, being brought into the company by investor and Blockbuster board member Carl Icahn.[8][11][12][13] In 2007, Keyes helped Blockbuster acquire Movielink, a streaming video service, to compete with Netflix and Apple TV.[14][15] Keyes chose to shift focus from online to the stores and tried to improve the company's finances through moves such as restoring late fees.[12][16] Keyes attributed its struggles to having to both grow the company to please Icahn and to pay back its $1 billion in debt in 2009, which made refinancing very difficult owing to the financial crisis.[12][17][18] Keyes led the company after it filed for bankruptcy and facilitated a sale to Dish Network.[19][20][21]

Keyes is founder of the Education is Freedom foundation, which provides college scholarships for hard-working young students.[22][23]

Keyes has been a director of Murphy USA Inc. since August 2013.[24]

Keyes serves on numerous civic boards, including the American Red Cross national board of governors,[24] the Cooper Institute,[25] and the Dallas Education Foundation.

Awards

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In 2005, Keyes received the Horatio Alger Award, which is given to leaders in the community who exemplify "honesty, hard work, self reliance and perseverance". In 2008, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

References

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  1. ^ "Blockbuster Takes a Big Gulp". Fool.com. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
  2. ^ "Keyes, James W." The Wall Street Transcript. 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Coy, Peter (March 8, 2024). "Flau'jae and Wyclef Jean Are Rapping About Personal Finance. Good". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "(PRN) Blockbuster Appoints Former 7-Eleven CEO James W. Keyes Chairman and CEO". Houston Chronicle. July 2, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Nugent, Tom. "College of the Holy Cross | Holy Cross Magazine". Holy Cross Magazine. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Keyes Tapped to Head Up Blockbuster". CSP Daily News. July 2, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Nelson, Emily (October 25, 1999). "7-Eleven and Partner PepsiCo Cook Up Corn-Chip Casserole". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Flemming, Jack (February 21, 2019). "Former Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes chops some more off his Redondo Beach mansion". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Zaragoza, Sandra (January 1, 2006). "Jim Keyes, 7-Eleven both poised for change". Dallas Business Journal.
  10. ^ Bond, Paul (July 10, 2007). "Blockbuster's Keyes to keep focus on consumer | Hollywood Reporter". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "Blockbuster Names James Keyes as CEO". CNBC. July 2, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Molla, Rani; Kafka, Peter (June 30, 2020). "You're watching Netflix today because Blockbuster screwed up". Vox. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Anderson, Mae; Liedtke, Michael (September 3, 2010). "Hubris — and late fees — doomed Blockbuster". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Blockbuster Gains Ground With Movielink Acquisition". WIRED. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  15. ^ Munarriz, Rick (December 10, 2008). "Blockbuster CEO Has Answers". The Motley Fool. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  16. ^ Huddleston Jr., Tom (September 22, 2020). "Netflix didn't kill Blockbuster — how Netflix almost lost the movie rental wars". CNBC. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Fritz, Ben (August 27, 2010). "Blockbuster said to be planning a bankruptcy filing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "Moody's lowers Blockbuster's PDR rating, CFR affirmed; outlook negative". Moodys. August 14, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Blockbuster Assets Acquired by Dish Network for $320.6M". RIS News. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Musil, Steven. "Dish Network completes acquisition of Blockbuster". CNET. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  21. ^ Buskirk, Eliot Van (August 27, 2010). "Internet Fail: Blockbuster Reportedly Plans Bankruptcy". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  22. ^ "James W. Keyes". Archived from the original on November 7, 2017.
  23. ^ Hodges, Dylan (June 25, 2024). "I Love to Read: Jim Keyes analyzes NEETs, youth engagement in tech in new book". Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana Traffic | WISH-TV |. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Murphy Oil USA, Inc. - Investor Relations - Corporate Governance - Board of Directors". Murphy Oil. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "Board of Trustees - Cooper Institute". Cooper Institute. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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