Speakers

Jim Western is a senior executive and former U.S. Marine Corps officer with over two decades of leadership at the intersection of defense, national security, and enterprise solutions. He currently serves as Vice President of Enterprise Accounts – Government & Military at WillScot, where he leads the Military, Government, and Education vertical. In this role, he spearheads strategy and business development for U.S. Federal, State, Local, Education, and Crisis-Response customers across North America, delivering modular building and storage solutions that support mission-critical operations.  

Prior to joining WillScot, Jim spent more than 15 years with Honeywell Aerospace, directing a multimillion-dollar defense portfolio supporting the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Canadian Department of National Defence. His leadership consistently drove revenue growth, program execution, and customer success across complex sustainment, modernization, and logistics programs.

Jim’s foundation as a leader comes from a distinguished 22-year career as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His service included command and staff assignments in infantry, reconnaissance, and security force units, as well as tours at Headquarters Marine Corps, the Joint Staff, and the National Security Council. At the NSC, he was the primary liaison between the Office of Assistant to the President / Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan and the interagency, helping to facilitate the interagency policy development process and supporting the efforts of our Ambassadors and Commanders in these two theaters. On the Joint Staff, he coordinated deployment of U.S. forces in support of Operations Enduring & Iraqi Freedom, and, as part of the Joint Staff’s Crises Response Cell, supported the historic Defense Department response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As Commander, Interim Marine Corps Security Force Company, U.S. Fifth Fleet, he deployed to Aden, Yemen as part of Operation Determined Response, the US response to the terrorist attack on the USS COLE.  As I MEF Tactical Exercise Officer, he planned and coordinated the execution of four Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) Certification Exercises, testing the readiness for deployment of the Marine Corps’ premier crisis and contingency response forces. Jim also saw service as an unarmed Military Observer with the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission and deployed as a Rifle Company Executive Officer for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the liberation of Kuwait.

Jim brings unique insight into the challenges of national security, defense acquisition, and interagency operations. He is widely regarded as a trusted partner to government, military, and industry leaders, with a proven record of delivering innovative, scalable solutions that advance both mission readiness and resilience.

Jim is married to the former Elica Kirilova of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. They have three sons, Ivelin, Victor, Daniel and a daughter, Jasmina.