James C. Rhee

James C. Rhee serves as the Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship and a Professor at Howard University. He additionally holds appointments as Executive in Residence and Strategic Adviser at the MIT Leadership Center and as Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, with teaching roles extending to Duke School of Law.

Dr. Rhee earned his AB with honors from Harvard College and his JD with honors from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. His academic journey followed a distinguished career as a private equity investor and CEO of Ashley Stewart (2013-2020), where he engineered a remarkable turnaround of the company serving predominantly Black women.

Professor Rhee's research revolutionizes traditional business paradigms by demonstrating how kindness and mathematical precision can coexist in leadership. His work develops frameworks for measuring goodwill as a quantifiable business asset and advocates for human-centered approaches to organizational transformation. His scholarship has significant implications for diversity initiatives in corporate environments, particularly within the retail sector where he implemented his theories successfully.

His scholarly output centers around his national bestseller Red Helicopter—a Parable for our Times (2024) and related media contributions that have reshaped contemporary discourse on ethical business practices. Analysis of his publications reveals a consistent thread connecting childhood experiences with advanced business metrics, creating accessible frameworks for organizational change.

His notable honors include:

• Regional EY Entrepreneur of the Year
• New York Urban League's Frederick Douglass Award (2022)
• Power Player designation from the National Retail Federation

Through his academic appointments and red helicopter initiative, Professor Rhee mentors emerging entrepreneurs and develops educational content that bridges theoretical business concepts with practical implementation. His FirePine Group impact investment platform strategically supports ventures that align profit motives with social impact objectives.

Professor Rhee leads the red helicopter media-education platform, which unites a global community around the intersection of kindness values and mathematical business systems. This initiative extends his academic work into practical applications, creating learning modules and community discussions that operationalize his leadership philosophy across diverse organizational contexts.