Jim Gilmore

James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III was born on October 6, 1949, and is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent. He later was elected to public office as a county prosecutor, as the Attorney General of Virginia from 1994 to 1998, and as the 68th Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002.

After his political career, Gilmore campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination until July 2007, when he became the first major Republican candidate to leave the race. He was nominated as the Republican candidate for Virginia's United States Senate seat being vacated by John Warner. In the November 2008 election, Gilmore lost to his Democratic opponent Mark Warner.

Post-politics, Gilmore has been active in various educational and business roles. He is an Assistant Professor of Innovation and Design at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, and a Batten Fellow at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, where he teaches about the Experience Economy. Gilmore has co-authored several influential books including "The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage" and "Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want," which have established him as a thought leader in experience design and customer experience management. Furthermore, he serves as a Visiting Lecturer in Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, focusing on cultural hermeneutics. Gilmore continues to contribute to the discourse on business strategy and innovation, emphasizing the integration of digital and physical experiences to create value in the digital age.