by Keka Araújo
December 18, 2025
In 2016, President Barack Obama additional solidified this legacy by awarding him the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his relentless volunteerism.
Within the coronary heart of a metropolis lengthy outlined by its civil rights heritage and financial ambition, James “Jay” Bailey is drafting the subsequent chapter of the American Dream.
Because the president and CEO of the Russell Innovation Heart for Entrepreneurs (RICE), Bailey doesn’t merely lead a company; he stewards a $50 million financial engine—the biggest middle on this planet explicitly devoted to empowering, scaling, and advancing the success of Black entrepreneurs.
Dwelling by the poignant motto, “Construct As We Climb,” Bailey has reworked 70,000 sq. ft of actual property right into a sanctuary for innovation. Below his management, RICE has turn into a lighthouse for greater than 500 entrepreneurs, immediately fueling the creation of greater than 2,000 sustained jobs within the Metro Atlanta space. It’s a mission rooted within the legacy of the late Herman J. Russell, Sr., aimed toward closing the wealth hole via tangible enterprise progress and job creation.
An Atlanta native and a loyal Georgia Bulldog, Bailey’s trajectory has been marked by a dedication to service that has caught the eye of the very best places of work within the land.
Three U.S. Presidents have acknowledged his management. In 2012, he was honored on the White Home as a “Champion of Change,” cited explicitly for following within the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 2016, President Barack Obama additional solidified Bailey’s legacy by awarding him the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his relentless volunteerism.
Bailey’s affect extends far past the partitions of RICE. As a managing associate at Greenwood Archer, a minority-owned non-public fairness agency, he actively directs capital towards forward-looking ventures. His October 2023 TED Speak on entrepreneurs “unlocking their full potential” additional cemented his standing as a world thought chief, offering a masterclass for aspiring founders on turning imaginative and prescient into institutional actuality.
Bailey’s board service reads like a listing of Georgia’s most influential establishments. From the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Georgia Forestry Basis to his function as Chairman of Residents Belief Financial institution’s Subsequent Era Advisory Board, he is a continuing presence the place technique meets group influence.
His accolades replicate a profession of constant excellence. Named to the Atlanta Enterprise Chronicle’s “POWER 100” and acknowledged by Atlanta Journal as one of many metropolis’s 500 strongest leaders in January, Bailey stays grounded within the organizations that formed him.
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