Jim Ware | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

James Ware, CFA is the founder of Focus Consulting Group, a firm dedicated to helping investment leaders leverage their talent. James is also a highly acclaimed industry author and international speaker on the subjects of investment leadership, culture and building high performing teams. A frequent keynote speaker at CFA Institute, Mutual Fund Educational Alliance, Investment Adviser Association, U.S. Institute and other major industry conferences, James is recognized for his insightful, inspiring and entertaining presentations. His recent books, “Investment Leadership: Building a Winning Culture for Long-Term Success” (Wiley, 2003) and High Performing Investment Teams (Wiley, 2006) identify those elements of leadership and teamwork that lead to sustainable success for investment firms. James has 20 years’ experience as a research analyst, portfolio manager, and director of buy-side investment operations. He has been a guest lecturer on the topic of investment firm management at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. His educational background includes a Masters’ in Business from the University of Chicago and a degree in philosophy from Williams College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Current position (2)

Founder

Focus Consulting Group, Inc

Speaker Retainer Program

CFA Institute

Achievements (3)

Author

Four books published on the investment industry: culture, leadership, teams, future direction

Consultant

Worked with over 400 investment firms worldwide

Speaker

Delivered speeches to over 100 organizations in 20 countries

Degrees (1)

MBA in Finance

University of Chicago

1978 to 1979

Presentations

Presentations (2)

Investment Culture in the New Era

Creating and maintaining a successful investment culture in profoundly changing industry, based on Jim's new book, "Money, Meaning, and Mindsets."

Leading the Investment Firm in the New Era

Leadership in the New Area requires a different mindset and different skills. This presentation describes prior leadership styles and what is required going forward. Based on the book, "High Performing Investment Teams" and Jim's new book, "Money, Meaning, and Mindsets."

Workshops (2)

Accountability: getting it right

2 hours

Firms repeatedly select "accountability" as the most important value to instill in their culture. But few do it well. Many end up creating a blame culture instead. This workshop presents a new way of thinking about and executing on accountability. Tried and proven with many investment firms.

Key Skills of High Performing Investment Teams

4 hours

Based on the book, "High Performing Investment Teams" this workshop teaches the five skills that have proven most effective in improving team effectiveness. Takeaways include better decision making, communication, and conflict resolution.

Past talks (3)

Creativity in the Investment Industry

CFA Annual

Orlando

December 31, 1999

High Performing Investment Teams

Chicago CFA Society: Distinguised Speakers Series

Chicago

December 31, 2008

Behavioral Finance

Financial Analyst Seminar

Chicago