James R. Jenkins held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Deere & Company from March 2000 through December 31, 2012, and continued as SVP and consultant until June 2013. As Chief Legal Officer for Deere & Company worldwide, he had executive management responsibility for the Law, Patent, Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, and Brand Management departments and the Center for Global Business Conduct.

Before joining Deere & Company, Mr. Jenkins was Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel at Dow Corning Corporation in Midland, Michigan. He served in a variety of leadership roles there, including participation on the corporate executive, finance, trademark, and public policy committees, as well as on the senior management team responsible for the resolution of the silicone breast implant controversy.

Mr. Jenkins, a Director of HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI), Muscatine, Iowa, until May 2016, currently serves on the board of the American Arbitration Association and is a member of the American Law Institute and the Illinois and Michigan State Bars. Chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel in 2005, he is a former member of the Executive Leadership Council, Inc. (until 2013), and is an Emeritus member of the Association of General Counsel.

A native of the Chicago area, Mr. Jenkins received a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He served in the U.S. Army, including a year as an interrogation officer at the Combined Military Interrogation Center, Saigon, Vietnam, and was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service. He received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and attended the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School.

James Jenkins serves as Chair of the Foundation, American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution