I make hard things happen.
What I Do
With 22 years of experience in delivering digital experiences, I have a proven track record of taking on projects with a high degree of product uncertainty — and delivering high quality work that exceeds business goals while staying on time and within budget.
I have:
worked both within agencies and on the client side.
run projects from initiation to launch day and beyond.
held direct responsibility for day-to-day workflow and process.
launched dot coms, digital experiences, apps, and new products and features.
set, met and exceeded success metrics time and again.
Program Lead /
DRI
Delivering cross-functional business outcomes—specializing in new product and feature launches
Senior Program Manager /
Client Service Director
Understanding project needs and team capabilities—managing internal and external relationships to drive project success
My Impact
Google Account - R/GA
Grew account billings from $4M to $12M annually while solidifying the client relationship and building concrete ways of working for a 40+ person team.
Facebook Year in Review - Meta
Facilitated time-sensitive realignment of project specs in order to stabilize an at-risk project and ultimately deliver impactful work both on time and on budget to hundreds of millions of people globally.
True Link Card - True Link Financial
Launched a novel financial product, scaling from 0 —> 10,000 paying customers while pivoting from a DTC model to a B2B indirect sales model.
McDonald’s, Gap - AKQA
Delivered first-of-their-kind digital experiences including a major retailer’s first iPhone App (featured in an early Apple TV ad).
Reality Labs Growth Product - Meta
Built systems and ways of working to efficiently deliver hundreds of pieces of creative work and drive more frequent testing.
Where I’ve Worked
My Working Philosophy
I believe that projects are not only successful because they meet business goals and are delivered on time/budget, a successful collaboration should improve cross-functional connections and build the groundwork for future engagements.
My goal is for whatever team I'm working with—be that engineering, product, design, or storytelling—leaves the project ready and energized to come together and tackle the next one.
I accomplish this by deeply understanding the project needs, team capabilities, and external pressures. Then, I design and execute a project model that will get us to delivery in a way that’s sustainable for all team members involved.
My Success metrics:
Did we meet/exceed business metrics?
Did we meet/beat the delivery date?
Did we come in under budget?
Did we do it in a way that was sustainable for the team?
Did we create permanent, better connections and collaborations?
My Background
I'm a tinkerer and theater technician. I like figuring out the how and the why of things—and how they can be improved. I have strong opinions about theme park lines. I enjoy adapting recipes in the kitchen. I’m excited for Caltrain to finish their electrification project.
I have a drama degree from Colorado College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. I have always approached projects with an eye for how to take the resources I have, understand the skill sets and existing relationships of the team, and then figure out the most strategic path to meet our goal or deadline.
Whether I’m working on a branded creative experience built on top of a new technology stack with UX, Design, Product, and Engineering, or a theatrical performance with designers, actors, stage crew and a director — there’s always a path forward, and we can enjoy the process along the way.
To view my full resume, please click here.
Some nice things people have said about me
Working with James, you feel supported, seen and appreciated. You don't mind working hard because you know your contributions are meaningful. He treats everyone with respect and dignity, and he goes above and beyond to make sure his teams are taken care of. It makes a HUGE difference. I still regularly think about what a naturally gifted, exceptionally competent leader he is.
— Erin Seabolt, MFA, Copywriter - Accenture Interactive
James has provided critical advice on several start-up ventures. He is always honest, up-front, critical, and most importantly insightful. I would not move forward on a start-up without bringing James into the picture.
— Greg Putnam, Co-founder & Managing Director - Cosine Energy
James is a magical blend of an organized yet creative thinker who's calm under pressure and can find a smooth path through the trickiest issues. He has a wide variety of skills, which means he is adept at problem solving with engineers, designers and clients alike.
— Jen Mayo - Group Production Director