James R. Pledger
Jim Pledger is a 30-year veteran of the FBI who retired in 1996 as a member of the FBI’s elite Senior Executive Service. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration. He is married to the “love of his life” and he and his wife, Sharon, have two grown children. During his career, he served in FBI field offices located in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. As a field Agent, his assignments involved the full range of investigative responsibilities, including violent crime, fugitives and financial and organized crime. As a supervisor and executive manager, he held positions involving sensitive, complex investigations, as well as law enforcement training.
At the time of his retirement, Jim was assigned to the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, as the FBI’s Senior Executive for FBI International Training. Prior assignments in the Training Division included FBI New Agent training, FBI executive development programs, practical exercise training, and firearms training. Jim was the Chief of the FBI Firearms Training Unit for approximately three and one-half years and has extensive experience related to the management of law enforcement firearms training. He also developed the FBI’s practical exercise training program used at Hogan’s Alley which relates to the full range of law enforcement skills.
One of his greatest job satisfactions, however, came from his work as project leader to establish and develop the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, which was a foreign policy initiative of the United States. He coordinated this important project for the United States, which involved the FBI, the U.S. Deprtment of State, the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, numerous U.S. law enforcement agencies, and other international partners in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The project was completed through the negotiation of international bilateral agreements and the establishment of domestic and international coalitions.
Following his retirement from the FBI, Jim was the National Sales Manager/Chief Sales Officer for GLOCK, Inc., the Austrian based manufacturer of semiautomatic pistols and equipment for the police, military, and civilian markets. He was responsible for all sales and operations in North America. During Jim’s four-year tenure with Glock, he grew the company’s revenue from $60M to $100M and significantly increased profitability. Innovative sales and marketing programs developed and implemented by Jim resulted in the very positive “branding” of the Glock name and the achievement of a dominant position in the marketplace
In July 2000, Jim left GLOCK to become the Chairman, President and CEO of DAC Technologies Group International, Inc., (Symbol DAAT) to concentrate his efforts on firearms safety issues. He selected DAC because the company had a solid reputation for quality, was profitable, had great potential to grow, and had several exciting new products in the pipeline which would increase firearms safety in the home and the law enforcement workplace.
In June 2002, Jim accepted the position of Vice President for Law Enforcement and Military Sales and corporate officer with SiGARMS, a premier firearms manufacturer. He made this career change to be in a better position to assist in anti-terrorism efforts of the U. S. after the tragic terrorist attack in September 2001. He selected SiGARMS because of its reputation for quality and its outstanding position in the firearms industry. He used his extensive experience to direct the SiGARMS team to win the largest non-military handgun contract in U.S. history when SiGARMS was awarded the contract to supply the Dept. of Homeland Security.
In February 2005, Jim stopped working full time with any one company to form The Pledger Company and begin consulting work. Jim serves as a Vice President for Sigarms, Inc (firearms) and ArmorShield USA (body armor) and as National Sales Manager-Federal Sales for Action Target (firearms range systems) on a consulting basis. Other clients include NIVISYS (optics, night vision , thermal imaging) and Mace Security International (Mace Pepper Gun).
In 2007, Jim joined forces with Ray Reynolds to form Pledger & Reynolds LLC. Like Jim, Ray is a retired police executive and former executive in companies in the firearms industry.
Jim and Ray both currently serve on the Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
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