James started his career in the advertising world, selling his first agency at age 25 to Saatchi & Saatchi after beating them out on the Procter & Gamble account. As a co-founder of 42 Below vodka, the US and its huge market beckoned. He moved stateside and his work to build the brand’s equity there was instrumental in its near nine-figure sale price to Bacardi only a few years later.

James then turned his attention to creating his own go-to-market brand practice, Liquid Asset, launching brands like Dominique Rosé, Wodka Vodka, Cangria, Canvino and Captain Smolders Smoked Salmon.

James has been in the cannabis industry for a couple of decades in myriad ways. During the pandemic, James built a state-of-the-art CO2 extraction facility in Missouri, and began extracting CBD, THC and minor cannabinoids as the US market began to bloom. With most players focused on flower, James engaged his Canvino (and now Humacology) business partner Sam Saunders to uncover any non-flower white space, and together they realised the potential as well as the power of cannabinoids. James then turned his attention to manufacturing, and today is one of Humacology’s head formulators, working closely alongside Dr Nik, Professor of Phytochemistry and Herbal Medicine Specialist at the University of Athens.

Under James’s leadership, Humacology has become Australia’s leading manufacturer of low or non-THC oils, and with their recent launch into New Zealand and upcoming launch in Japan, there appears to be no limit to where Humacology could go.

Today, James divides his time between Brooklyn, New Zealand and Australia.