Growing up in poverty in a small town in central Massachusetts, James Keyes seemed destined for a difficult life—one working at the local factory alongside his father and struggling to get by. Instead, he went on to become the CEO of 7-Eleven, where he increased shareholder value by tenfold during his tenure and led the sale of the company to its Japanese licensee. A truly fearless leader, Keyes also tackled a challenging business transformation as Chairman and CEO of Blockbuster. How did he defy the odds?

Education was the key to unlocking his opportunity, and in turn his freedom. In EDUCATION IS FREEDOM: The Future Is in Your Hands, Keyes shows how lifelong education and education access shaped his life and how they can empower us with the mindset to overcome adversity and achieve our full potential. He offers a roadmap for growing our wisdom throughout our lifetimes with his C-Suite of Learning. This includes understanding what to learn, how to learn, and most critically, why it’s important we learn. At an individual level, these tools can make us more productive professionally. Collectively, it can make us more responsible citizens. As Keyes reminds us, an educated electorate is the fundamental prerequisite to a working democracy.

EDUCATION IS FREEDOM is also a call to action for corporations to invest in technology to transform the way we teach and learn. In his role as CEO, Keyes realized that shareholder value and social good are not mutually exclusive but in fact complementary. Companies should invest in education, because an educated workforce is their lifeblood and critical to a sustainable future. Education undoubtedly offers a path to achievement and financial reward but there’s more to it than that. It’s the key to freedom no matter what our circumstances are—and perhaps the answer to humanity’s biggest challenges.

About James Keyes

James W. Keyes is a global business leader, philanthropist, educator, artist, musician, commercial pilot, and modern renaissance man. He is the former CEO of two internally recognized Fortune 500 companies, 7-Eleven, Inc. and Blockbuster, Inc. His other business interests cover a broad range of industries from retail, consumer products, technology, healthcare, cyber security, new space, energy, and advanced nuclear. He sits on several public company boards and serves as a board adviser to a venture capital firm and a number of start-up companies. Keyes’s philanthropic initiatives have an equally broad focus.

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