James graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 1977 working extensively in regional and touring theatre as a Stage and Production Manager. In 1988 he was appointed Executive Director of Cambridge Theatre Company, later to become Method & Madness until appointed Executive Director of Hampstead Theatre in 1998 where he was instrumental in the design, funding and building of the new Theatre. He became the Chief Executive of the Theatre of Comedy Company, that operates the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2004. Alongside the programming and management of the Theatre, he oversaw the building of the new flytower and the first two phases of the Dramatic Transformation project.
During his career he has been an active member of the ABTT, UK Theatre, formally the TMA, and the Society of London Theatre. James founded the audio description company, Vocaleyes in 1998, and became its Chairman. Whilst at the Shaftesbury he was a director of Inmidtown, the local Business Improvement District, a member of the Camden Business Board and a Director of Stage One.
James stepped down from the Chief Executive post in November 2024 and acting as a consultant to both the Theatre and the parent company DLT Entertainment. Additionally, he will be working on the development of the Saville Theatre and the development of a customer orientated ticketing company.