James K. O'Donnell, Esq.
President
Jim has been at the helm for over 35 years.
After graduating with a B.A. in English from Rhode Island College, he went on to attend and graduate from law school at Suffolk University. Before beginning his career at Equity, he worked in customer service and sales capacities, as well as spending 8 years in local politics and city government. During this time, he ran 3 political campaigns and worked for 5 years for the Mayor of Providence.
Jim sees himself as a servant leader who enriches the lives of those with whom he interacts and enhances the work in which he's involved. He loves to solve vexing problems through collaboration with others, and even with customers. Jim enjoys coming alongside smart and creative people who bring different perspectives and ideas from other industries to help stir the imagination and collaboratively solve perplexing issues.
Jim leads Equity’s leadership teams and business development activities while supporting strategic company relationships and championing strategic initiatives, including nurturing the company culture. He also closely tracks industry compliance and risk management trends to ensure compliance management systems stay ahead of the curve.
For over 20 years, Jim was an active board member of the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association, serving for 8 years as the Chair of the Legislative Committee, and was recognized 3 times during this period with the Distinguished Service Award. It’s good to note that Jim has recently become active in ALTA by serving on 3 committees.
Jim is also a 6-year member of C12, which is a faith-based organization that equips Christian business leaders to achieve excellence through the power of peers. C12 also provides a rigorous, interactive monthly curriculum empowering its members to lean into challenges and leverage the opportunities in today’s marketplace. Jim is a recipient of the organization’s ‘Barnabas’ award, implemented as a recognition for demonstrating the value of encouraging others.
Over the past 10 years, Jim has been a distinguished panelist for October Research webinars and conferences and has hosted a number of webinars on diverse topics with industry thought leaders.
On a personal note, Jim and his wife Lucille live in North Kingstown, RI, and have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.