James D. Robinson III

James Dixon Robinson III (born November 19, 1935, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American businessman best known for his position as the chief executive officer of American Express Co. from 1977 until his retirement in 1993.

Robinson attended Woodberry Forest School and is a 1957 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of Industrial Management where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He earned an MBA from Harvard in 1961.

James D Robinson III served as Chairman & CEO of the American Express Company for approximately 16 years. He held additional positions at the company prior to that. While at American Express, Robinson launched a thwarted hostile takeover of McGraw-Hill, purchased Shearson Lehman, IDS, First Data Corporation, and several others. He co-created Warner-Amex with Steve Ross. He played a prominent role in the RJR Nabisco leveraged buyout battle as chronicled in the book Barbarians at the Gate. Actor Fred Thompson played Robinson in the 1993 movie.

Robinson has been a director of The Coca-Cola Company since 1975. He is a general partner and co-founder of RRE Ventures, a private information technology venture investment firm, along with his son, James D. Robinson IV, a venture capitalist, and a classmate of his son from Harvard Business School, Stuart J. Ellman. Robinson is also president of J.D. Robinson, Inc., a strategic consulting firm. He was previously a long-time Director and Chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and of Violy, Byorum & Partners, which operated in South America.

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