James studied physics at the Universities of London, Oxford and Cambridge, culminating in the publication of The Ideas of Particle Physics (CUP, 1984). After working in scientific computing, James entered the world of investment and was active in financing a wide range of mobile, cable and telco operators as well as software and device companies.
In 2000 he co-founded a data-networking company now trading as GTT Communications (NYSE: GTT) at (www.gtt.net). Subsequently, he went on to found Anthem Corporate Finance (www.anthemcf.com) specialising in transactions in these sectors. James founded the Witness Corporation in 2012 as a private advisory and investment company as well as promoting a variety of academic projects in physics and related areas.