James B. Smith

Jim Smith’s career spans senior executive positions in the military, education, diplomacy, and international business. Mr. Smith is a former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, where he supported American business and education. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Smith headed a military airplane manufacturing facility and held senior management positions at two major multinational companies.

A retired Air Force Brigadier General, he was an F-15 fighter pilot and flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm and served across the globe. He commanded the 18th Fighter Wing in Japan, the largest combat wing in the US Air Force and was later exercise director for Millennium Challenge, the most complex transformation experiment in US military history.

Mr. Smith holds a BS from the US Air Force Academy and an MA from Indiana University. He is also graduate of the National War College, where he later became Air Force Chair and Professor of National Security Strategy. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Southern New Hampshire University, where he established the College of Engineering, Technology & Aeronautics, Daniel Webster College and the University of Maryland University College.