Dr. Jim Petersen PhD, CFP^®, CLF^®, ChFC^®, CLU^®, CASL^®, RICP^®, WMCP^®, CRPC^®, CAP^®, ChSNC^®, AEP, CPBC is a leadership coach, military officer, professor, author, and financial services industry executive who has well over three decades of experience. His coaching experience is extensive as he served in many leadership and financial services positions. Today he teaches leaders a variety of subjects.

Before joining the industry, Jim was a commissioned officer in the United States Navy where he served almost 22 years on active duty and in the reserves as a nuclear submariner retiring as a Captain (O-6). His military leadership expertise included many aspects of nuclear propulsion and submarine warfare.

Dr. Petersen received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Naval Academy and Master of Science Degrees in Financial Services (MSFS) and Management (MSM) from The American College of Financial Services. On June 1, 2017, Jim became the first financial services manager to be awarded a PhD in Financial and Retirement Planning from The American College. He has numerous professional services designations. Jim is an adjunct professor at The American College of Financial Services, a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), Financial Services Institute (FSI), GAMA International, and the Fort Worth Estate Planning Council.  He is also a Past President and Emeritus of the Alumni Board of The American College, Chairman of The American College Penn Mutual Center for Veterans Affairs (PMCVA), and, previously, a Trustee and Ambassador for the GAMA Foundation. He served on boards for Texas Christian University (TCU) and the University of Tampa (UT). Jim has widespread training experience and teaches leadership for GAMA and is certified by the CFP Board to teach the CFP curriculum

Jim currently teaches the Capstone Course and Qualified Retirement Plans for the MSFS degree, Organizational Behavior for the MSM degree, and is the Ethics Professor for graduate degrees at the American College. He also teaches the Essentials of Leadership and Management course (ELM 2.0) for GAMA International as well as a facilitator for the Study Groups.

As an author, Jim’s first two books From Combat to Client Service and From Combat to Corporate Life deal with hiring veterans in business. His third book about the life of a Vietnam POW is due out during the third quarter 2020.

He and his wife, Louise, have three children and two grandchildren. They currently have residences in Fort Worth, TX and Orlando, FL.