LeMieux Center for Public Policy has named two new members to its advisory board.
James C. (Jim) Jenkins is past chair of the University Board of Trustees and executive vice president of Esko Inc., a Palm Beach-based family office/private investment firm. He has more than 30 years experience starting and growing businesses in real estate, credit and wealth management. He co-founded SROA Capital, an institutional owner-operator of self-storage properties; The Alliant Company, a large, multi-family property owner; and Spectrum Financial Corporation, a senior secured lender to middle market companies. He oversees a diversified investment portfolio, including hedge funds and private equity.
Jenkins is a founding investor of Delegate Advisors, a wealth manager to ultra-high net worth clients and previously served as chairman of Beekman Helix India, a merchant bank providing credit solutions for real estate development in India. He began his career with Ernst & Young Certified Public Accountants. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and a Florida CPA.
Jenkins is active in a number of organizations including Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches (Treasurer); University of Virginia’s Jefferson Scholar Regional Selection Committee (Chairman) and Memorial Presbyterian Church (Elder), where he has taught Sunday School to adults and children alike.
James W. (Jim) Holton is of counsel with the North Palm Beach office of Hall Booth Smith, P.C. He is president and owner of Holton Companies, which develops and invests in real estate projects throughout Florida. He served as chairman of the Florida Transportation Commission from 2005 to 2007, a position to which he was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush. He was praised for his leadership in addressing some of the most pressing transportation needs and maintaining public accountability for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Earlier in Holton’s career, former House Speaker Allan Bense appointed him as director of Enterprise Florida Inc., a position he held from 2005 to 2009. EFI is a public-private partnership between Florida business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization in the state.
Holton has served as chairman of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority and on the board of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Nationally, he is chair of the board for the Drug Free America Foundation.
Holton earned a postdoctoral Master of Laws degree in tax law, as well as his Juris Doctorate, from the Boston University School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Stanford University.