James B Nicholson

James B. Nicholson is president and chief executive officer of PVS Chemicals, Inc., an international manufacturer, distributor and marketer of chemicals and related environmental services. Headquartered in Detroit since its founding in 1945, PVS employs 850 people in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Before joining PVS in 1972, Nicholson held positions with the First National Bank of Chicago in London, England and Dublin, Ireland. Mr. Nicholson is chairman of the Amerisure Companies and the Handleman Company and a member of the board of Cooper Natural Resources. He is chairman of the board of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and The Futures Foundation, chair of the Detroit metropolitan area’s Tourism Economic Development Council and a member of the executive committee of the board of Detroit Renaissance. Nicholson is a current member and past chairman of the boards of the Wayne County Airport Authority and Detroit Public Television, and a past chairman of the boards and a current advisor to the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. He also serves on the boards of the McGregor Fund, the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan, The Parade Company, Digital Detroit, Michigan Colleges Foundation and the Detroit Economic Club, and on The Council of the Graduate School of Business at The University of Chicago. In June of 2006, Mr. Nicholson was appointed by President George W. Bush to become a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Until October 1, 2007, Mr. Nicholson was Chairman of the Board of LaSalle Bank Midwest, NA. Mr. Nicholson has provided leadership and support to many other civic and charitable causes. Nicholson was appointed by Governor John Engler to chair the Michigan Strategic Fund and to serve as a member of the Secchia Commission and on the board of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. Mr. Nicholson earned his BA in Economics from Stanford University in 1965 and his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1967. In 1968 he received a Master of Science degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. A lifelong native of the Detroit area, Nicholson and his wife Ann reside in Grosse Pointe Farms.