Jim Calko is an experienced consultant and heads Agile Services at The Gunter Group. For more than 18 years, Jim has been leading diverse teams in the military, high-tech manufacturing, eCommerce and health care sectors. Jim graduated from the Pamplin School of Business in 2014 with a Masters in Business Administration.
Jim was born and raised in Lordstown, Ohio. He graduated Youngstown State University in 2003 and decided to enlist in the US Army in November of 2004. While he was stationed in Ft. Lewis, WA he was accepted into Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 2006.
He was stationed in Germany, serving two tours in Iraq from 2007 – 2009, where he served as a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer for an Abrams tank company and Maintenance Officer for the Battalion on Abrams Tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and other weaponry.
Shortly after his completion of active duty, Jim completed a Master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma (2010) and began working at The Gunter Group. He was accepted in the Pamplin School of Business, Master’s in Business Administration program .
Jim started with The Gunter Group in 2013 working as a program manager supporting the roll out of the Affordable Care Act. Over the years, he has earned the reputation of a servant leader who successfully develops teams, solves problems, and consistently delivers projects and products within the ecommerce industry. Currently, Jim and his team partner with clients going through digital and agile transformations, as well as process improvement to improve overall business agility. He is also spearheading The Gunter Group’s expansion into southern California.
Wedding Picture from 2008 at St Sharbel’s in Portland
Jim, his wife Monica (UP Alum 2007) and 2 kids recently moved to Orange County, California where they enjoy going to the beach and spending time with extended family.
What are you doing now (as a UP Alumnus)?
What I love about The Gunter Group is I get to do a lot and since we have a great team, it doesn’t always feel like “work.” On the client side I’m helping stand up a few programs ranging from Marketing Technology within an ecommerce group to digital transformation at an early childhood education client. As it pertains to internal projects, our firm is going through a tremendous amount of growth, so I’ve been leading projects focused on business development and market expansion here in Southern California. I’m also working on becoming a certified Clifton Strengths coach.
Right now, my family and I are still getting used to (all the sunshine and warm weather) living in Southern California. Every weekend we are discovering new places, which has been a lot of fun. I’ve also been trying to do more reading, planning some fun hikes, and looking forward to baseball starting back up.
Why did you choose UP Pamplin for your MBA?
There were several reasons why I chose UP Pamplin. My wife went to UP and had a terrific experience before going on to earn her Pharm D at Pacific University. I prefer small class sizes, with smart, personable professors so I can ask questions and UP fit my learning style. Additionally, having already started working at The Gunter Group, I really appreciated the flexibility of night classes.
How did a graduate degree help you?
First off, the UP Pamplin program helped give me a well-rounded business education giving me a breadth and depth in areas of finance, accounting—areas I haven’t had much experience, but absolutely needed for my career. There was a lot of good academic material, but I think the one thing I learned and really appreciated from UP was networking and strong alumni network. There were some great people, who are happy to give back and help, which I really appreciate. In part, because I was a beneficiary of that good will, but it’s a good reminder in life and business to do the right thing and help people.
What advice would you give someone considering graduate education?
Be ready to make sacrifices, it’s hard. You’ll be challenged academically, you’ll need to read through tons of course material, write papers and develop projects all within a short timeframe. And, if you’re considering a program like UP Pamplin, you may also be juggling family and professional responsibilities as well. I think it’s worth it because you’ll learn a lot academically, but also learn how to manage so many different things, especially for those who are a bit more junior in their career. I also think an MBA or graduate degree/ certification is worth it for those who are established in their career because they’ll learn some new academic and different perspectives, but also be able to share valuable insights to professors and students. So, it’s not easy, but it was really such a rewarding experience.
Monica, Jim, Emma (4) Thad (8)