Meet The CEO

Mr. James is the former President & Chief Executive Officer of St. Vincentʼs Health System in Birmingham, Alabama. The System includes five facilities – four acute care hospitals and one Health & Wellness Complex. St. Vincentʼs serves the seven county Birmingham MSA population of 1.2 million in four different counties with 5,000 employees. St. Vincentʼs Health System is the number one market share leader with 21% of the market in the Birmingham seven county MSA. Its total operating revenue for 2008 was $0.6 billion. It is a member of Ascension Health, the largest non-profit system in the country.

Mr. James was Chief Financial Officer for 22 years and President & CEO for 10 years. During the last five years St. Vincentʼs experienced unprecedented growth. Total operating revenue grew from $170 million in 2002 to $548 million in 2007. Its 2009 budget consist of total operating revenue of $615 million, with EBIDA of $62 million, and an operating margin of $20 million. During this same period new capital projects totaled over $350 million in investments.

Prior to joining St. Vincentʼs in 1976 , Mr. James spent five years with Ernst & Young. During that time he earned his CPA certificate. As part of the audit and tax team, he worked with clients specializing in mortgage banking, commercial banking, manufacturing and healthcare.

Mr. James holds his B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a double major in Business Administration and Finance. He received his MBA from Samford University in 1996. Curtis is a CPA and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

While in his Chief Executive Officer position at St. Vincent’s Health System, Mr. James was repeatedly recognized for his community service and business acumen. He served as the 2007 Corporate Walk Chair for the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and has served as Corporate Chair for the 2006 Americaʼs Walk for Diabetes. He is on the Advisory Board for Regions Bank, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Board, and Samford University Board of Overseers. He served as Chair and member on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabamaʼs Hospital Advisory Council. He is a member of the Birmingham Rotary. His leadership has been credited for the consistent acclaim St. Vincentʼs has enjoyed, both Nationally and within the State. 

Birmingham Business Journal named Mr. James as one of Birminghamʼs Top 100 Healthcare Pioneers, Practitioners and Entrepreneurs in 2002 and Samford University named him Business Alumnus of the Year in 2004, where he was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary. In 2004 the Alabama Information Technology Association named Mr. James the Top Executive in Information Technology. In 2007, Mr. James was named Healthcare Executive of the Year by the Birmingham Business Journal.

Mr. James, currently is the Chief Executive Officer of Sunbelt EB-5 Regional Center in Alabama. Sunbelt has successfully raised $25,000,000 of EB-5 pooled funds from 50 investors for the Baptist Health System (BHS) Princeton $58,900,000 healthcare project in Birmingham, Alabama. To-date Sunbelt has 48 investors who have received their I-526 approvals with the other 2 pending final review and approval. The EB-5 pooled funds were placed in an NCE and loaned to the BHS to repay a bridge loan associated with the BHS-Princeton Project. The three (3) year construction Project has been successfully completed and the construction spend will create 787 plus jobs – well in excess of the 500 required.

Sunbelt has several other potential EB-5 projects at various stages of the EB-5 investment cycle in healthcare and hospitality.