Veteran, Volunteer, Advocate
Palo Alto, CA
Jim Cowie was born and initially raised in Connecticut, spent his elementary school years in Somalia, Lebanon and Tunisia, and returned to the US to attend high school in Georgia. He attended Duke University on a Navy ROTC scholarship and then served for more than four years as an officer in the United States Navy, primarily aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, and achieving the rank of Lieutenant. Jim’s last day of active duty was his first day at Stanford Law School where, among other things, he co-authored a humor column in the Stanford Law Journal and took advantage of his student privileges at the Stanford golf course.
Jim began his legal career at the firm now known as Troutman Pepper and then worked as in-house counsel for over 25 years at companies in the financial, healthcare, semiconductor and biotechnology industries, including more than 12 years as General Counsel at Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Along the way, he was remarkably fortunate to work with immensely talented teammates and wise mentors.
Jim is a member of the Advisory Board of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Stanford University’s Buck/Cardinal Club, and the Service Leadership Corps for The Mission Continues.
Jim and his wife Liz, who live in Palo Alto, California, have three daughters. He enjoys playing basketball, golf and pickleball, as well as biking, hiking, swimming and running.