Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 3
Number of Founded Organizations 1
  • Primary Job Title Member of the Board of Directors
  • Primary Organization 
    Smurfit Kappa

James A. Lawrence has served as chief executive officer of Rothschild North America and as co-head of global investment banking since June 2010.

Rothschild provides financial advisory and asset management services across the Americas from offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Montreal and Calgary.

Prior to joining Rothschild,

James Lawrence served as chief financial officer of Unilever and as an executive director on the boards of Unilever NV and Unilever PLC.

James Lawrence joined Unilever in September 2007 after serving as the vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Mills, where he was responsible for corporate financial activities and international operations.

Before arriving at General Mills in 1998, James Lawrence was executive vice president and chief financial officer for Northwest Airlines, a position he held since 1996.

Before joining Northwest, he spent four years at Pepsi-Cola International, where he served as president and CEO of its operations in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Inc., James Lawrence was chairman and co-founder of LEK Partnership, a highly successful corporate strategy and merger/acquisition consulting firm headquartered in London with 20 offices and more than 1,000 consultants in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

Before launching his own firm, James Lawrence was a partner with Bain and Company, establishing and heading offices in both London and Munich.

James Lawrence earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Yale University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is currently a director of International Airline Group, the holding company of British Airways and Iberia.

He previously served on the board of directors of Avnet, Inc. from 1999 until 2008, when he resigned to take on an employment-related role requiring him to relocate to Europe. He rejoined the Avnet board in May 2011.

As a member of Avnet's board of directors, Mr. Lawrence chairs the Audit Committee.

Number of Past Jobs 7
James Lawrence has had 7 past jobs including CEO & Co-Head of Global Investment Banking at Rothschild & Co..
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
Rothschild & Co.
CEO & Co-Head of Global Investment Banking20102012
Unilever
CFOSep 20072010
General Mills
CFO19982007
PepsiCo
President and CEO of its Operations in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa
LEK Consulting
Co-Founder
Bain & Company
Partner
Northwest Airlines Corporation
EVP & CFO1996
Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 3
Number of Past Board & Advisor Roles 6
James Lawrence holds 3 board and advisor roles including Member of the Board of Directors & Chairs the Audit Committee at Avnet, Member of the Board of Directors at Smurfit Kappa, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Great North Star.
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
International Airlines Group (IAG)
Director20152018
Rothschild & Co.
Chairman of the Board of Directors20122015
Unilever
Member of the Board of Directors20072010
Avnet
Member of the Board of Directors19992008
General Mills
Vice Chairman of the Board Director19982007
LEK Consulting
Chairman of the Board of Directors