James Harris

James Harris General Information

Biography

Mr. James Harris served as Operating Partner, Consumer Sector at CenterOak Partners. He is focused on the Firm's investment activities in the Consumer sector. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of OluKai LLC, a premium ocean lifestyle brand that manufactures and distributes premium footwear throughout the United States and abroad. Prior to OluKai LLC, he was the President and Partner of Huneeus Vintners, a luxury wine holding company in Rutherford, California, which includes the wines of Quintessa, Flowers, and The Prisoner. Previously, he was the Managing Director of Artisan Confections Company, the premium chocolate division of The Hershey Company ("Hershey"). In this role, he was responsible for the formation of Artisan and the integrations of both Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt Confections. Before joining Hershey in 2005, he was President and Chief Financial Officer for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and was responsible for structuring the sale of Scharffen Berger to Hershey. He was previously with Kohlberg & Company, a private equity investment firm, as well as held various private equity and leverage finance positions at Trivest, Inc. and Bankers Trust. He serves on the Board of Directors of Southern Tide.