James has over 35 years retail Financial Services experience across retail banking, pensions, investment, wealth management, and the platform sectors. His roles have included Joint CEO at Speirs & Jeffrey Investment Management, Chief Risk Officer at TD Wealth International, and senior roles at RBS and Standard Life. James also has a strong legal and regulatory background having spent time at the Law Society of Scotland and Financial Services Authority.
He has held senior Executive/Board positions and a variety of Regulatory Approved Persons positions including NED, Director, Compliance Oversight, Risk Management and Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
James also holds pensions and investment management qualifications including the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate and the G60 Pensions Specialist module. He is a member of the Personal Finance Society (DipPFS) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (FCSI) and possesses an MBA, the Financial Times NED Diploma and the Oxford University Fintech Programme.
James maintains a strong network of contacts across the industry and is an advocate of personal development and has spent much of his career mentoring and developing others.
Married with three grown up children, James enjoys travelling, yoga, music and taking his Wirehaired Vizslas for long walks in the country.