Jim Ward joined the navy after high school and served onboard a nuclear submarine. After military service, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Central Florida before entering the steel industry in 1997 as a rolling mill control and automation engineer. In 2006, he transitioned to a corporate technical consultant role and traveled throughout North America providing support and training for reheating furnace automation. With a strong mechanical background in nuclear power operations and a professional engineering license in electrical power systems, he has the process knowledge and persistence to troubleshoot a wide range of mechanical and electrical problems presented in the reheating and rolling processes.