About the Firm
An executive advisory firm built for organizations that value long-term partnership.
The JL Garrett Group serves businesses and Faith Based Institutions through two specialized divisions — Growth Advisory and the AI Scholars Division — with one shared conviction: strategy, leadership, and technology exist to serve people and mission.
James T. Acuff, Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Founder & Chief Growth Officer
James T. Acuff
James T. Acuff is the Founder and Chief Growth Officer of The JL Garrett Group. He brings more than 20 years of executive sales, marketing, and growth leadership, including senior roles at AWS and AT&T, where he led growth initiatives across large, complex organizations serving customers from small businesses to the Fortune 100.
After two decades operating inside global enterprises, Jim founded The JL Garrett Group to apply that experience where it matters most — to businesses ready to scale, and to Faith Based Institutions navigating the challenges and opportunities of an AI-shaped world. He serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs, business owners, school leaders, pastors, and nonprofit executives.
His work is grounded in a simple conviction: growth, innovation, and leadership must serve real outcomes and real people. AI is one of the capabilities we use to accelerate results — never the point.
President · AI Scholars Division
Krista Acuff
Krista Acuff is President of the AI Scholars Division. A career educator and educational leader, she brings extensive classroom and school experience to the responsible adoption of AI across Christian education and ministry.
Krista leads the Division's work in AI curriculum strategy, professional development for educators, school-wide AI implementation, faith-based AI governance, educational transformation, teacher enablement, and student AI readiness. She partners directly with heads of school, principals, faculty, pastors, and ministry leaders to translate ambitious AI strategy into practices that hold up in real classrooms and real ministries.
Her focus is helping Christian schools, churches, and ministries integrate AI while remaining aligned with their mission, values, and educational philosophy — with policies, curriculum, and training that protect students, equip teachers, and strengthen the organization's calling.
Krista Acuff, President · AI Scholars Division
Leadership Partnership
Executive business leadership meets real-world educational expertise.
The partnership between Jim and Krista combines two decades of enterprise growth leadership with a career built inside classrooms and schools. Together, they enable The JL Garrett Group to serve both businesses and Faith Based Institutions with credibility, executive judgment, and practical experience — one firm, two divisions, one shared standard of work.
What we believe
Principles that guide every engagement.
Growth is the product
Business engagements are measured against revenue, margin, or a defensible growth metric.
Leadership is the differentiator
Frameworks matter, but seasoned executive judgment is what moves an organization.
Mission comes first
For faith-based clients, every recommendation is filtered through the organization's calling.
Vendor-neutral
No platform allegiance. We recommend what fits and explain why.
AI where it earns its keep
AI deployed only where it creates measurable value — never as theater.
Trusted advisor, not vendor
Long-term partnership beats a stack of one-off deliverables.
Experience
Two decades leading growth inside the world's most demanding organizations.
20+ yrs
Executive sales & marketing leadership
Senior roles across enterprise sales, partner ecosystems, and customer growth programs.
AWS · AT&T
Big Tech leadership
Led growth inside two of the world's most consequential platforms, serving customers of every size.
1,000s
Leaders coached & teams built
Built and led cross-functional sales, marketing, and RevOps teams across matrixed global organizations.
9-figure
Revenue P&Ls owned
Owned and grew nine-figure books of business while modernizing GTM operating models.
Next step
Ready to accelerate growth?
Schedule a 20-minute consultation with James T. Acuff. We'll discuss your business, goals, current process, and go-to-market strategy to develop a custom approach.