Although he seems like the consummate quality professional, James Bossert ended up in the quality profession by chance. Today he’s spent more than 35 years in industries from automotive to cell phones to healthcare and consulting. His career has brought him around the country, and around the world. He’s worked in Texas, Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina and New York. Along the way, he’s written two books and edited four. 

Growing up in Rochester, NY, he’d always wanted to work at Eastman Kodak—“My blood runs Kodak yellow,” he says—because his father worked there for 42 years. Rather than wait for a job opening, he wrote a letter to the CEO. This landed him an interview, and eventually, a job. As the hiring manager said, they liked his moxie.