James R. Barker (businessman)

Barker grew up spending summers with his uncle, a boat captain in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and worked on ships doing the Great Lakes trade.^[4] Barker graduated from Columbia College in 1957 and became a coast guard officer.^[5] He then graduated from Harvard Business School, and worked for Pickands Mather & Co., a raw materials production and shipping company.^[4]

Barker later joined Harbridge House, a consulting firm as a transportation scientist. In January 1970, he formed shipping consultancy Temple, Barker & Sloane with Carl Sloane and Peter Temple and was hired by Moore-McCormack to tackle its business problems.^[6] In 1971, he became chairman and CEO of Moore-McCormack, becoming then the youngest CEO of a major American corporation at 35 years old.^[7][8] In 1973, he led the purchase of the Pickands Mather Group.^[9] Barker served in his chief executive role until 1988, when he acquired the company's cargo shipping operations.^[10]

He has served as chairman of the Interlake Steamship Company since he acquired the subsidiary from McCormack in 1987.^[11][10] He served as a director of Verizon and its predecessor, GTE from 1976 to 2007.^[1][12] He was also a former Chairman of the National Maritime Council and a director of the American Bureau of Shipping.^[13][14]

Barker received the Lone Sailor Award from The United States Navy Memorial in 2022.^[5]