James Ramey
At 12:01 AM on Monday, May 22, 2023, CodeWeavers, Inc. announced James Ramey as their new Chief Executive Officer succeeding Jeremy White in the role.
While that sounds like an incredibly ominous headline, it’s really not. The planning for this transition started in 2020. And during this period of time, CodeWeavers bought out its shareholders allowing it to transform into an employee-owned trust while creating a graceful exit for Mr. White to step back from the company he founded 27 years ago (almost to the day). It’s an amazing accomplishment in the continued transformation of an amazing company. And now as CEO, I began reflecting on how I got “here”.
Some people wonder where their career started. I know. For me, it started when I decided to wear a tie to an interview for a doorman position at a comedy club near where I was living during college. With absolutely no “actual” job experience and needing money to finish college, I answered an ad for DOORMAN at a comedy club located in a hotel in Moorhead, Minnesota. The job only required that I be able to work Friday and Saturday nights; be able to lift 25 pounds; and be able to handle money (i.e. make change). These were all skills that I possessed and showed up for that interview wearing a tie. Without any real job experience, I was at least trying to look presentable. Ironically, I found out later that I only got the job because I was the one candidate who wore a tie to the interview. AND THAT is the first step in the journey that has become my career for the past 29 years.
Without any idea of what my future would become, I got the job as doorman and worked to be the best doorman I could be. This lead to me having a conversation with the hotel general manager about becoming the Director of Room Sales upon college graduation. Director of Room Sales was my first job on my career path, and it was worth so much more to me than the salary it paid. It proved to be a resume builder with networking opportunities with other area professionals. That job also allowed me access to Dale Carnegie classes putting me in contact with two future employers that provided the sales experience required for me to transition into technology sales. Technology sales then afforded me the opportunity to work with and then work for companies in the Twin Cities. Being in the Twin Cities allowed me to attend obtain my MBA at night school. And with my MBA, I was hired at CodeWeavers to become the Vice President of Sales roughly 15 years ago; promoted to the President of CodeWeavers 10 years ago; and promoted again to become the company’s CEO as of May 22, 2023. And all of this goes back to when I decided to wear a tie for job I needed to stay in college so I could graduate. Wild story, but 100% true.
As CEO of a now Company Owned Trust, it is now my onus to run the company for the benefit of the employees. That leaves room for interpretation; however, I intend to continue the mission of the company in doing meaningful work with people we respect while having fun and making money. I intend to allow every employee the opportunity to participate in profit sharing. And I want to continue building a company that people can be proud to work for, work with, and come to know. Maybe this is an ideal interpretation, but it is the interpretation I’m going to work towards as CEO.
And while I have learned countless lessons over these many years, I am truly blessed that every step in my career path has led me to this point in life. To that point, I would like to thank Mr. Jeremy White for his mentorship at CodeWeavers and wish him a very happy retirement as he rides out into the sunset. I would like to share to our thousands and thousands of customers that CodeWeavers will continue to be the quirky, rebellious, niche software company that you’ve come to know and love for the past 27 years. And to CodeWeavers employees, have no fear as this isn’t the first step in a new journey but another step in a journey that started years and years and years ago. It just so happens it all started with a tie.
About James B. Ramey
James B. Ramey is the CEO of CodeWeavers. His life long love of video gaming started at the tender age of six with an Atari 2600 and evolved over time to include Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Apple Mac IIc, Windows PC, and MacBook Pro. When not fiddling with technology, James enjoys cooking, travel, debating politics in the office, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and their two rescue dogs. For the past 20 years, James has worked with clients around the world in best implementing technology to maximize a return on their investment. He is a graduate of Moorhead State University and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix. You can find James on Twitter at @jbramey.
