Jim Barksdale

Jim Barksdale is chairman of the board and president of Barksdale Management Corporation, a private company managing his investments and philanthropic activities. He also serves as chairman of Spread Networks, which he helped establish in 2009.

With over 35 years of operational experience, Jim served as president and CEO of Netscape Communications Corp. from 1995 until its merger with America Online in 1999. Prior to Netscape, he was CEO of AT&T Wireless Services and held executive positions at Federal Express Corporation and IBM. Under his leadership, Netscape received "Entrepreneurial Company of the Year" awards from both Stanford and Harvard Business School alumni groups in 1997. Computer Reseller News named him "#1 Executive of the Year," and PC Magazine selected him "Person of the Year."

**Hurricane Katrina Leadership:** Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, Jim was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to chair the Governor's Commission on the Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal of Mississippi, leading the state's comprehensive disaster recovery efforts. He subsequently chaired the Mississippi Broadband Connect Coalition and served as interim Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Jim's philanthropic work includes establishing the Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi and investing $100 million with his late wife Sally to create The Barksdale Reading Institute for Mississippi children. In 2008, he and his wife Donna created the Mississippi Principal Corps to transform principal training in the state.

He sits on boards including Time Warner, Federal Express, and Mayo Clinic, and was appointed to President George W. Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Jim holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi and has received honorary degrees from Rhodes College, Millsaps College, and Duke University.