MANSFIELD, PA—U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Jim Reese, 
founder, chairman and chief executive officer of TigerSwan, and a 1989 Mansfield graduate, will be the speaker at Mansfield University’s 150th Commencement on Saturday, May 9, at 10 a.m. at Karl Van Norman Field.
Before founding TigerSwan, an international security and global stability firm, in 2008, Reese served 25 years in the Army. His military commitment began while an ROTC cadet at Mansfield.
“Jim Reese is a leader, both in his military career and now in the business world,” MU President Fran Hendricks said in making the announcement. “His story of patriotism, dedication and success is one we want our newest graduates to hear. We are honored to welcome Jim back to campus to speak at our 150th Commencement.”
Reese came to Mansfield in 1982 as a football recruit. He joined the Army ROTC program and the National Guard his freshman year. After his junior year Reese enlisted in the Army Airborne Ranger Program where he spent three years and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. In 1988, the Army sent Reese back to Mansfield to finish his degree and the ROTC program. He was the Mansfield ROTC cadet battalion commander and was the General Marshall awardee for the ROTC region as the top cadet. Reese graduated in May 1989 with a communications degree and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army.
Reese rose quickly through the ranks and distinguished himself in the 75th Ranger Regiment and “Delta Force,” the U.S. elite counter-terrorist force. He has advised international leaders on six continents and served in contingency operations in the Balkans and Colombia and combat operations in both Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Immediately following 9/11, the U.S. Secretary of Defense selected Reese to serve as the lead advisor for Special Operations to the Director of the CIA for operational planning and integration of CIA and military special operation elements in the invasion of Afghanistan and Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2003, the U.S. General designated as the Combined Forces Coalition Commander personally requested Reese to be his primary advisor for the integration of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) for the Iraq invasion.
Reese retired from “Delta Force” and the Army in 2007. He took his experience and leadership and became the director of security operations for a multi-billion-dollar international Fortune 100 Company. Reese was responsible for implementing and reorganizing the security apparatus of the company as well as the organizations critical infrastructure, maritime, aviation and personal-security operations.
In 2008, Reese was specifically recruited to lead the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security and High Threat Security Services for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also in 2008, Reese’s entrepreneurship formulated the founding principles and vision for the establishment of TigerSwan, a global security and stability consultancy that advises clients on procedural, behavioral and internal conditions for the creation of adaptive security solutions within an asymmetric global threat environment, which he launched a year later. Today, TigerSwan operates in 46 countries with several hundred employees providing services to organizations and individuals domestically and abroad.
Reese is a frequent speaker at industry events and organizations focusing on stability, international crisis, change leadership and execution as a value proposition. In September of 2014, he was hired by CNN as a Global Affairs Analyst to provide insight and expertise in areas dealing with instability and international relations.
In addition to his BA in Mass Communication/PR from Mansfield, Reese earned a Fellowship degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for International Studies (CIS) in U.S. national security and foreign policy.
Reese and his wife Niki and have two daughters, Hali and Keevyn.
In the event of inclement weather, Commencement will take place in Decker Gymnasium.