Jim Stroup is a management consultant specializing in organizational leadership. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Jim began his working career with stints in a diner, several gas stations, a tool and die shop, and in an advertising agency mail room. During this period, his academic career went into a long hiatus after two years studying philosophy and history. After a few years, he moved to North Dakota to take a job as a common laborer on a construction site.
Later, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and served as an Infantry Marine in the United States and Japan, as well as on deployments to the Mediterranean and the Western Pacific. After several years, and promotion to the rank of sergeant, Jim was selected for a commissioning program.
As an Infantry Officer, he continued to serve as a commander and staff officer in the operating forces in Hawaii, with further deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Upon assignment to a major training command on the West Coast, he was instrumental in the expansion and development of three major specialty certification and professional development programs. Later, Jim served in the first Gulf War, in 1990 and 1991. During his spare time in this period, Jim also completed his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in international relations, and a master’s degree with a dual concentration in business and management.
Jim subsequently entered the Marine Corps Foreign Area Officer program, and went to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where he learned Arabic. Next, he and his family moved to Cairo, Egypt, where they lived for a year while Jim traveled throughout the Middle East, honing his skills as a military expert for the area.
During this time, he also managed to obtain certification as a foreign area officer for Europe, with a specialty for Turkey. After serving a further tour as the operations advisor for the Kuwait Ground Forces, Jim retired and turned to work in the civilian world, during which period he also found time to complete a doctorate in business administration.
During and since his military career, Jim has had the opportunity to work with, observe, and advise numerous military and civilian organizations, from many countries and cultures, on four continents. He has developed substantial expertise in organizational leadership, and he consults widely and writes on this subject, as well as other related organizational and management topics.
Jim is married and splits his residence between Istanbul, Turkey and San Diego, California. While still in the United States, his wife, Emel, obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology. She is also a certified cognitive therapist, and she practices and teaches in Istanbul. Jim and Emel have one son, Tarik, who is a graduate of the visual arts program at the University of California, San Diego, and who lives and works in his field in Southern California.
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