James Bennett Founding Partner

Mr. Bennett is currently a Senior Managing Director with Dix & Eaton, a public relations and investor relations specialty firm. In addition to leading Dix & Eaton's Employee Communications Practice, Mr. Bennett works with several of the firm's largest clients to translate their missions, overall directions and product/market strategies into compelling communications to all principal stakeholders.

Prior to Dix & Eaton, Mr. Bennett spent 30 years with McKinsey & Company, where he held a number of leadership positions, including Managing Director of the Cleveland/Pittsburgh Office Complex, a member of the worldwide Executive Committee and a member of the worldwide Shareholders Committee (McKinsey's equivalent to a Board of Directors).

Following McKinsey, from 1998 through 2000, Mr. Bennett was Senior Executive Vice President at KeyCorp, one of the country's largest bank-based financial services companies. In 2001 and 2002, Mr. Bennett was President, CEO, board member and a minority shareholder of EmployOn, a start-up online recruiting and talent management company.

Mr. Bennett is a Director and past Chair of the Cleveland Initiative for Education, past Chair of the Visiting Committee of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, past Vice Chair of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and is a Director and Founding Chair of the Greater Cleveland Media Development Corporation.

In civic affairs and not-for-profit organizations outside the business arena, Mr. Bennett was a ten-year director of The Cleveland Foundation and chaired its Grantmaking and Community Engagement Committee. He is a past Chair and trustee of the Cleveland-San Jose Ballet, a past trustee of The National Ballet of Canada, a past trustee of Hathaway Brown School, a long-time trustee of United Way in Cleveland, and a former member of the Trustee Council of Phillips Exeter Academy.

Mr. Bennett received his A.B. from Cornell University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard Law School, he also attended Harvard Business School.