“Someone like Jim only comes along once in a generation,” says Nick Alexander, a close friend and professional colleague of Jim Ryan.

When Jim died suddenly and unexpectedly in January of a cardiac arrest, it left a void in the lives of those who knew him and those he’d never met.

As chairman of the St. Francis Medical Center Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Jim played a pivotal role in fund raising and advocacy on behalf of patients. His most visible effort was raising money through the BMW Charity Ride for the Footprints Program so that neighborhood children could have shoes and other necessities they needed to attend school. But his generosity went deeper than that. “Jim had outstanding leadership skills but he never wanted to be in the spotlight. He was good at working behind the scenes to meet the goal,” notes Gerald Kozai, President and CEO of St. Francis Medical Center. “Any time we asked for help, he was there.”

Jim was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and grew up in New Jersey. His first ‘job’ was sweeping floors in his grandfather’s Chrysler-Plymouth dealership as an eight-year old. It was here that Jim began to cultivate what would become a life-long love of cars. Upon graduation from college with an engineering degree, he went to work for the Ford Motor Company. He also began to race cars, even setting a few national records.

In 1975, Jim was hired by BMW of North America, where he would spend the rest of his career with the exception of a five year hiatus. In the mid-1970s, BMW was just beginning to establish its brand in the United States. Three years after he was hired, Jim relocated to California to head up the new Western Regional Office. Jim was on the forefront of BMW’s growth, supporting dealers and staffing the region. When Jim took mandatory retirement in 2002, he had become the Senior Vice President & General Manager of Automotive Operations for the Western Region of BMW of North America. His colleagues, correctly guessing Jim would need something to keep him busy in retirement, took up a collection and bought him a Ford Fairlane 427 engine—the perfect gift for a man who restored classic cars. What made this gift priceless to Jim was that he owned and sold a 1966 Ford Fairlane 40 years ago—something he regretted almost immediately. His BMW family knew that he continued to long for this car and made it possible for him to reach for his dream. It was a tribute to a man who was loved and admired.

 Friends & Family Reflect

 The outpouring of phone calls, letters and cards that Jim’s wife Toni received after his death was almost overwhelming. “I had no idea how many lives Jim touched until he was gone,” she observed. When asked about Jim, Toni points to his way with people and his genuine interest in them that made him stand out. He was also goal-driven—he had an effortless knack for convincing others to help him reach goals. Nick Alexander, a BMW dealer, concurs. “Jim was a natural leader. He had the toughest job. He was the intermediary between the BMW  headquarters in Germany and the dealers.” He used those skills to smooth over any tensions that arose when these two different cultures came together.