James W. Bradford

Dean and Ralph Owen Professor of Management

Subject Area(s): Strategy and Business Economics

James W. Bradford is dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, and also serves as the Ralph Owen Professor for the Practice of Management. He was appointed dean in March 2005 after serving as acting dean for nine months.

During his tenure as dean, Bradford has spearheaded the development and launch of five innovative, market-driven and immersion-based programs at Owen, including the Health Care MBA, master’s degrees in finance (MSF), healthcare management (MMHC) and accountancy (MAcc), and Accelerator, a 30-day summer intensive for highly qualified undergraduates. In 2006, he established a Board of Visitors comprised of leading corporate executives to further strengthen Owen’s connection and relevance to the national and international business communities, and has formed additional advisory boards for the health care and accountancy degree programs. He also teaches courses in business strategy to Owen MBA and Executive MBA students, and his leadership has resulted in a more than 300 percent increase in annual giving to date.

An experienced corporate executive, Bradford previously served as president and CEO of United Glass Corporation and AFG Industries Inc., America’s largest vertically integrated glass manufacturing and fabrication company, operating over 60 plants across the Americas.  Prior, he served as AFG’s general counsel and spent 11 years in private law practice.  His private practice and service as general counsel were primarily in the areas of corporate and transaction law.

Bradford earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida and his law degree from Vanderbilt. He completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School in 1997.

He currently serves on the board of directors for several leading companies and organizations, including CLARCOR Inc. (Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees); Cracker Barrel, Inc. (Chairman, Audit and Nominating & Governance Committees); Genesco, Inc. (Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees); Graduate Management Admissions Council (Chairman, Compensation, Membership and Nominating Committees) and Granite Construction Inc., one of Fortune’s 100 best companies to work for in 2007 (Executive Committee and Chair of Strategic Planning Committee). He also serves on the Advisory Boards for Harpeth Capital (Investment Banking), and is an ex-officio board member of the Nashville Health Care Council.

Education:
B.A., University of Florida, 1969
J.D., Vanderbilt University, 1973

Area(s) of Expertise:
Mergers and acquisitions, employment, financing, business structures, global and domestic business strategy, entrepreneurship.