James Hutchinson

Entrepreneur James J. Hutchinson, Jr. was born on September 22, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois to Dorothy and James Hutchinson. He received his B.A. degree in sociology from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1969 and his M.B.A. degree in accounting and finance from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 1971.

Hutchinson began his career in 1971 as a commercial loan officer at the First National Bank of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. In 1977, he became executive vice president and part owner of InterUrban Broadcasting, a chain of Southeastern and Midwestern Black-owned radio stations. At the same time, Hutchinson also served as executive vice president and part owner of the rental car service InterUrban Rental Systems, from 1985 to 1991, and as secretary and part owner of a minor league baseball team, the Savannah Cardinals, from 1985 to 1988 in Savannah, Georgia. He started his own business consultancy in 1996. That year, Hutchinson was hired by the New Orleans, Louisiana-based nonprofit Family Advocacy & Neighborhood Services as executive director. He served in that capacity until 2015.

Apart from his business career, Hutchinson held leadership roles at the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, serving as chairman from 1986 to 1988, and the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, which he chaired from 1987 to 1988. Hutchinson also worked as a commissioner for the New Orleans Convention Center from 1985 until 1987. He served as a board member of the United Way of Greater New Orleans (1986–1991) and the National Rainbow PUSH Coalition (1993–2002).

During his career, Hutchinson received numerous awards and honors, including the Broadcaster of the Year Award from the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters in 1985, the Trail Blazer Award from New Orleans Data News Weekly in 2002, a Distinguished Service Award from the New Orleans Regional Business Park in 2002, a Distinguished Service Award from the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, the Business Advisory Council Service Award from Xavier University in 2009, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asanti Foundation in 2015.

Hutchinson resides in Chicago, Illinois. He has two children and three grandchildren.

James J. Hutchinson, Jr. was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 7, 2023.