Jim Keyes

Jim serves as Executive Chairman of C5 and is known internationally as a business and social change agent.

His career has included serving as Chief Executive of two Fortune 500 companies (Blockbuster Inc. and 7-Eleven) and creating a strategic consumer product collaboration with Walmart as Chairman of Wild Oats Marketing.

He is currently spearheading several new tech initiatives in education, medicines, and aerospace. Keyes is involved in a variety of new technology initiatives. and has been actively engaged as an advisor to many technology companies utilizing artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality. These advisory roles range from a hypersonic startup in collaboration with Lockheed Martin to serving as on the advisory board of Xenesis, a company developing optical hardware for laser communications.

Keyes is a board member of Rithem, which is developing pocket-sized defibrillators He is co-founder of Back to Space, which promotes STEM education and enrichment. Keyes has also been active in philanthropy, supporting the arts, medicine, and education. He established a nonprofit foundation, Education is Freedom, a nationally recognized college, career and life-readiness provider. A firm believer that anyone can achieve their dreams with an education, he founded the nonprofit in 2002 as a way of using his own success to “pay it forward” to hardworking students. To date Education is Freedom has raised $450 million for its fellowships, scholarships, and other programs.

He has served on the Board of Trustees for College of the Holy Cross since 2017 and on the Board of Overseers for the Columbia Business School since 2010. He has been a member of Dallas Symphony Association’s Board of Governors since 2001, serving as Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2006. Since 2005 he has served on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Investment Committee for the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health and wellness through research, education, and advocacy. He has also served on the American Red Cross-National Board of Governors and chaired the American Red Cross-National Philanthropic Board. Since 2014 he has been on the Board of Directors of Murphy USA, which operates more than 1,470 retail gas stations in 26 states.

Keyes has been a pilot for 40 years frequently single-piloting Cessna Citations and a wide range of aircraft including helicopters and floatplanes. He is also a skilled sculptor, painter, musician, and composer. In 2005 the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans recognized Keyes with its Horatio Alger Award. Keyes currently resides in Dallas, Texas.