CEO and Managing Partner of Clarke Capital Partners - James Clarke

Episode 312, James Clarke

Part 1:

James Clarke

James Clarke is the CEO of Clarke Capital Partners, a Growth Equity and Alternatives Family Office. In 2001, James founded and led Utah-based online retailer, CLEARLINK—with over 2,000 full-time employees today—until it was acquired in 2011 by Pamlico Capital (formerly Wachovia) and has since been acquired in 2016 by Sykes (NSDQ:SYKE).

Today, Clarke serves as chair or director on the boards of various private and public companies in the US and abroad, including the 2017 IPO of PetIQ (NSDQ:PetQ), where he served as chairman until 2016. In late 2018, PetIQ completed a $250 mm follow-on offering at over a billion dollar market cap. He has also served as a trustee and board member of universities as well as regional and global non-profit organizations. Currently, James is a Governor appointed Trustee at Utah Valley University—the state’s largest institution of higher learning with roughly 40,000 full-time students—where he also serves as Chair of the Foundation Board.

Clarke Capital portfolio companies have been named as some of the nation’s fastest growing organizations on the INC. 500 list--as well as others--and many have been voted repeatedly as their regions' "Best Place to Work”. In 2013, the Utah State Bar named Clarke as the "Technology Pioneer of the Year" and in 2015 BusinessQ Magazine named him as one of their “10 Coolest Entrepreneurs”.

James is married to the former Andrea Earl of Holladay, Utah and they are parents to three children. As a team, they Chair 2019's Utah Philanthropy Day. He is an alumnus of BYU, Harvard University and holds a Masters Degree in Major Programme Management from the University of Oxford, where he has returned to lecture on occasion.

The Clarkes contribute to causes which support the arts, education & poverty eradication through their 'Labor & Honor' initiative.

Follow him on LinkedIn.