Jim spent most of his working life making medical devices work. The rest of it, he spent learning things he was told he was too old for.
Availability: selective. SavanTech is not taking new work at the moment. That is a policy, and a deliberate one.
Thirty-some years in the business
Most of it at Johnson & Johnson, in blood glucose monitoring and infusion systems. Jim has patents in the United States and abroad on an ECG electrode and on a self-monitoring blood glucose system.
Since 2005 he has run SavanTech, helping companies build the quality and development systems FDA expects, responding to inspection findings when an inspection goes badly, and making improvements to specific areas. The work is precise, and he is picky about it.
Inverness, Singapore, and points between
Director of Program Management at a J&J subsidiary in Inverness, Scotland, where three glucose meters launched in three years. Earlier, he transferred and ran a manufacturing process in Singapore as an expatriate, and passed an FDA GMP inspection with no 483. Product programs spanning U.S., European, and Asian manufacturing.
Medic, physiologist of flight
As a physiological training instructor, he trained Air Force student pilots in the effects of hypoxia and oxygen equipment, using an altitude chamber. He taught pilots not to fear rapid decompression from 25,000 to 43,000 feet, practiced in a rapid decompression chamber. He operated that equipment himself, and he also investigated aircraft accidents. That background shaped the physiological training protocol.
Three terms on the City Commission
Elected three times. Moved the city from paper reserves to cash reserves, and worked with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office on a partnership that saved the city over $1.5 million a year. He also completed the Sheriff's Citizen Academy, which he describes as the most honest class he has ever taken.
Six-pack captain
Passed the U.S. Coast Guard six-pack captain's license, which permits carrying up to six passengers. He has begun study for his 100-ton license.
Enthusiast ownership, since sixteen
His first car was a 1949 Ford V-8 Flathead Coupe, bought at sixteen. Later: a 1957 Chevy, a 1961 Austin Sprite, a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger, a Ford Cortina GT, a Mercedes E55 and two E63s, an Audi SQ5, a Jaguar F-Type V8S, and a VW EV. The current car is a 2026 Honda CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid, which asks for nothing and provides a great ride.
Classes, not credentials
Coursework in blacksmithing, leaded and stained glass, and hot glass blowing. He is not a master of any of them, and the glassblowing work instruction is the only craft document on this site with real steps, for that reason.
He has performed improv with American Theatre, Spitfire Theater, and smaller troupes, and has run a workshop called "Got U Laughing!" He has also studied haiku forms and storytelling at workshops at the Jack Kerouac House in St. Petersburg. He belongs to a mystery book club and occasionally leads its discussion.