James Simpson, Sr. (1874–1939) was a Scottish-American businessman who led Marshall Field & Co. and Commonwealth Edison.
He also held directorships at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and companies such as the New York Central Railroad.
During his time at Marshall Field's & Co., he also held directorships at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the New York Central Railroad, A.M. Castle & Co., Super Power Company of Illinois, the Western United Gas and Electric Corporation.
[1] In 1926, Simpson succeeded the retiring Charles Wacker as the chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, a position he held for the next nine years.
The pallbearers at his funeral were Frederick D. Corley (head of Marshall Field & Co.), Marshall Field III, Albert A. Sprague (businessman), John P. Wilson (Chicago alderman), and Charles Y. Freeman (Commonwealth Edison executive).