Author: Mia I. Brandon
Earlier this year, C.O.I. reinstated its popular and intimate webinar series being joined by Captain Jim Landers. Landers lives on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. His oldest son is a maritime Captain in the fisheries industry on the US Gulf Coast and his younger son is a former US Marine Corps Officer now engaged in Corporate Security. Serving on the Executive Board of East-West Center Foundation, spending time with family, and his love for health and fitness occupy time outside of his contributions to Hawaiian Airlines as Senior Vice President, Technical Operations. In his current role, he is responsible for safe and reliable operations of the Hawaiian Airlines fleet, including strategic direction and oversight of maintenance & engineering, flight operations and supply chain management.
In late 2013, Jim Landers transitioned from the United States Navy following a successful career leading in the air as a P-3 Orion Mission Commander and at sea as a Surface Warfare Officer. During his 26 years of service, he operated from Iceland, Northern Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea countering Soviet naval threats; the Caribbean and South America interdicting illicit drug smuggling; and the Adriatic Sea suppressing genocide and aggression in Bosnia and Kosovo. Later as our Nation’s focus shifted, he operated from Qatar, the horn of Africa, and Iraq flying aerial reconnaissance combat missions. Additionally, he operated from the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf countering pirates and terrorists on land and the high seas. He amassed over 3,100 flight hours and logged 40 combat missions. Perhaps most noteworthy, he served as the Captain of USS Makin Island, the Navy’s first hybrid propulsion Amphibious Assault ship with a compliment of 2,500 sailors and Marines and 40 rotary and fixed wing aircraft. As Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron Forty Seven, he led 12 aircraft of 400 aircrew and support sailors. For his final tour in the Navy, he served as the Director of Operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Jim Landers led an incredible conversation with about 130 attendees entitled: Charting the Course: Managing Organizational Transformations and Empowering Teams where he discussed the assumption of his command, absolute responsibilities, how credibility and trust in leadership lead to success, changing organizational culture, and his perspective of work life balance.
This week, we will host a webinar called “Finding Your Fire” with guest speaker, Mr. Nate Boaz. Boaz is the author of a 290-page memoir published earlier this year called Running Toward Fire: Following the Warrior Path. Nate also serves as the VP of People Strategy at Microsoft in Atlanta, Georgia, but has over 20 years of professional experience prior including Managing Director of a Venture Capital and Private Equity Group called Roark Capital, Group Operating Officer and Managing Director of HR Talent Strategy at Accenture, Partner at McKinsey, and both Captain and a counterintelligence officer in the Marine Corps focusing on human intelligence.
Boaz is a dedicated, humble, and altruistic person. He is dedicated to supporting children to ensure equal access to resources and support regardless of different abilities and to veteran support which includes building resilience, empowering and advocating for mental health, and continuing to serve after the uniform comes off.
The discussion and his expertise are centered around the following:
- Find Your Passion: Do the right thing, despite the circumstances. In times of crisis and chaos, lead your team with uncompromising morals and values.
- Take Action: Take quick, meaningful, and calculated action. How can you do this while staying true to your essence and your core values?
- Positive Leadership: Especially when in situations full of external influences to your job duties, how can you lead a team to success?
To access all webinar recordings and introductions to the guest speakers, please visit our YouTube channel or click Videos under the Explore tab.