About Jim
Expertise
Jim Harris is a partner based in Bain & Company's Washington, D.C. office. He leads the firm's Americas Aerospace, Defense & Government Services practice and is an active member of the Advanced Manufacturing & Services and Supply Chain practices.
Jim's A&D work has covered commercial and defense OEMs, Tier I/II suppliers, MRO providers and major airlines, as well as several government services players.
He has led engagements across strategy, M&A, organization and performance improvement. He brings deep functional expertise across the value stream, including product development, engineering, planning, procurement/supply chain and manufacturing.
Jim joined Bain in 1997. Earlier in his career, he worked in marketing for Dell.
Jim received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he graduated as a Tuck Scholar. He also earned a BA from Rice University in biochemistry, chemistry and economics.
Cost reduction is a challenging topic for many companies, but especially for those in aerospace and defense. Jim Harris describes the benefits of using zero-based redesign and zero-based budgeting to focus on the real requirements to running a business as efficiently as possible.
Recent Insights
- “Reducing Carbon Emissions from Propulsion in Commercial Aviation,” Infographic, August 2021
- “Jim Harris: Zero-Based Cost Reduction in Aerospace and Defense,” Video, December 2018
- “Melrose’s bid for GKN raises questions about Britain’s defense industry,” The Economist, January 2018, Aviation
- “How Government-Funded Defense Companies Can Remain Innovative,” Aviation Week, December 2017, Article
- “Uber's lofty plan: Flying taxis in L.A. ,” Los Angeles Times, November 2017, Aviation