Jim Culver, PhD

President & CEO of VVC

Dr. Culver has spent his career in the fields of commodities, international trade and trade finance, holding posts in government and academia, as well as the private sector. For the last 30 years he has focused on commodity finance and commodity project finance, primarily in mining and metals and agricultural products. Before relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, he spent 22 years working in New York City where he most recently managed two private commodity asset-based lending companies and developed hedge funds to support their lending activities. Dr. Culver served as Chief Economist and Director of the Economics and Education Division for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) where he was responsible for market surveillance and new product approvals. Dr. Culver also served for five years on the staff of the Committee on Agriculture of the U.S. House of Representatives, the last three years as Chief Economist. Dr. Culver earned his BS at the University of Tennessee Martin and MS and PhD degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.