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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

and was the chairman and CEO of

Blockbuster Blockbuster may refer to: Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a former video rental chain * Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon), remaining store Arts and entertainment * Blockbuster (entertainment) a very successful movie * Blockbuster (DC Comics ...

Early life and education

Keyes was born on March 17, 1955, in

Grafton, Massachusetts Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated ...

. 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 Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area, and the seat of Wor ...

, where his family lived in a three-room house that lacked plumbing. Keyes attended

Millbury High School Millbury Memorial Junior/Senior High School is a public school in Millbury, Massachusetts, United States. It serves students in grades seven through twelve. The school was founded in 1851. History Millbury Memorial Junior/Senior High School wa ...

before being educated at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

, where he graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

with a bachelor's degree. He helped to defray his expenses in college by working a shift at

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. In 1980, he earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(M.B.A.) from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

Career

From 1980 to 1985, Keyes worked for the

Gulf Oil Corporation Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger with Stan ...

(now called

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

). Keyes joined CITGO Petroleum in 1985, which was then a subsidiary of 7-Eleven, Inc. In May 1996, he became the chief financial officer of 7-Eleven Inc. In 1998, he became chief operating officer of the company. In 2000, Keyes was appointed president and CEO of 7-Eleven, a position he held until 2005. He retired from 7-Eleven when it was sold to Seven & I Holdings Co. As president and CEO, Keyes implemented new retail systems technology that improved product assortment decisions. Keyes served as chairman and chief executive officer of

, Inc., from 2007 to 2011, being brought into the company by investor and Blockbuster board member

Carl Icahn Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach, ...

. In 2007, Keyes helped Blockbuster acquire

Movielink Movielink was a World Wide Web, web-based video on demand (VOD) and electronic sell-through (EST) service offering movies, television shows, and other videos for rental or purchase. Movielink drew its content offerings from the libraries of Paramo ...

, a streaming video service, to compete with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

. 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. 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. Keyes led the company after it filed for bankruptcy and facilitated a sale to

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

. Keyes is founder of the Education is Freedom foundation, which provides college scholarships for hard-working young students. Keyes has been a director of Murphy USA Inc. since August 2013. Keyes serves on numerous civic boards, including the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

national board of governors, the

Cooper Institute The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

, and the Dallas Education Foundation.

Awards

In 2005, Keyes received the

Horatio Alger Award The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to promote and ensure the American Dream for future generations, honor the achievements of outstanding Un ...

, 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 The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, James American chief executives of food industry companies Columbia Business School alumni Living people College of the Holy Cross alumni American chief financial officers American chief operating officers American retail chief executives Year of birth missing (living people)