Jim is a technology and media industry entrepreneur and investor.  He founded Spirit of America in 2003.  At the request, and in support of U.S. military personnel, Spirit of America has provided millions of dollars of aid - medical supplies, clothing, tools, economic development assistance and more - to the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

The Wall Street Journal says, “Jim Hake’s organizational insight is to deploy the best practices of the modern U.S. economy – efficiency and speed” and “his operation in Los Angeles is wholly New Economy.”  Senator John McCain calls Spirit of America "America at our very best."

Jim is the author of 101 Ways to Help the Cause in Afghanistan - a book featuring 65 organizations that are supporting our troops and helping the Afghan people in innovative ways.

Currently, he serves as Spirit of America's Chief Executive Officer.  In 2005, along with the founder of Central European Media Enterprises Jim was a co-founder and CEO of SignalOne Media Corporation.  A venture created to establish independent,commercial satellite TV channels in the Middle East.

In 2000 and 2001, as the founder and CEO of BigButtons, Jim was named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum at its annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland.  BigButtons technology was a predecessor to today's widgets and gadgets.

Jim was a founding partner and president of Access Media Inc. – an Internet media company.  At Access Media Jim created the high-tech industry’s first Internet-focused media and marketing programs. Vice President Al Gore called Jim's work to advance the Internet "important to our country's future."  In 1996 Jim sold Access Media’s Internet-related operations to a business unit of SOFTBANK, then the world’s biggest investor in the Internet.  Access Media’s Internet business subsequently became a business unit of Ziff Davis – another SOFTBANK company.

Before founding Access Media, Jim was a marketing executive at Rational Software where, beginning as the company’s first marketing employee, he was responsible for the launch of the company’s first hardware and software products.  Rational became a publicly traded company and was later acquired by IBM.

Among his public sector activities, Jim participated in the historic Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future where he served as an advisor on the use of the Internet and led a session on the Role of Technology for the Summit’s delegates.

Jim received a BA and graduated with distinction in Economics from Dartmouth College. He earned an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  Jim's personal blog is here.