James has a deep understanding of the healthcare industry, having worked more than 25 years with large multinational pharma companies such as Pfizer, Sanofi, GSK and J&J. Over the course of his career, he has led agencies across the US, North Asia and Australia, worked as the strategic lead on some of the industry’s largest brands, and structured agency teams to meet the needs of specialized clients.

He led the APAC business for WPP Health Practice based in Hong Kong, having relocated from the US in 2019. Based in New York, he spent four years as Global Client EVP leading multi-disciplinary WPP agency teams steering some of Pfizer’s largest brands such as Prevnar, Xeljanz and Xtandi (JV between Astellas and Pfizer).

Prior to his time in New York he spent four years based in Shanghai and Tokyo working as Chief Strategy Officer for the China and Japan WPP Health agencies. He also served as the Regional Lead for all the agency’s Pfizer business across APAC. He began his time in North Asia with McCann Health, where he was appointed President of the China agency, which at the time was the largest healthcare agency in the country. Culminating in the agency being awarded the prestigious Campaign Asia ‘Specialist Agency of the Year – Greater China’ in 2011.

Before his move to North Asia, James built a career with Medicus Australia beginning as an Account Director in 1996, moving up to become Managing Director in 2002, when the agency became part of the Publicis Healthcare Group. On the back of the agency’s success, he was promoted into a newly created role assuming regional responsibility for Sanofi, their largest global client.

James holds a degree in Business with a double major in Economics and Finance, and currently lives in Hong Kong with his wife and their two over-indulged British Shorthair cats.