
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 worldwide in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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 Board of LaSalle Bank Midwest N.A. and the Amerisure Companies and member of the board of the Handleman Company and Cooper Natural Resources. He is Chairman of the Board of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Futures Foundation, and the Huron Clinton Metroparks 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, The Futures Foundation, 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. Mr. Nicholson has provided leadership and support to many other civic and charitable causes. In addition, he ran for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Nicholson was appointed by Governor John Engler to chair the Michigan Strategic Fund and to serve as a member of the Secchia Commission and is 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. He received a Master of Science degree in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1968.
A Detroit native, Nicholson, and his wife, Ann, reside in Grosse Pointe Farms.