James Burns

From serving a two-year religious mission in Germany, to commanding Apache attack helicopter pilots in Afghanistan and Iraq, to unlocking clients’ full value generation potential as a management consultant, James has always striven to help others. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, James commissioned as an aviation officer in the U.S. Army. He then reported to flight school, where he learned to fly Apaches. During his time in the Army, he served multiple combat deployments as a platoon leader and company commander in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, in additional to a rotation to South Korea.

After over eight years of service in the Army, James left to pursue an MBA at Stanford. He interned at Blackstone in their Tactical Opportunities Group to learn about investing and private equity. During his time at Stanford, James also interned at McKinsey & Company, worked as a fellow at the Hoover Institution, and helped an ecommerce digital analytics startup in India raise startup funding through Stanford SEED.

James earned a B.S. in Economics and German (double major) from West Point, an M.S. in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. When he is not working, James can be found reading, going on long runs, or travelling (35 countries and counting!).