Raised on wholemeal bread and orange juice, James spent his formative years inventing friends and abusing his parents' dial-up connection. He’s worked as a wedding photographer, a dish-pig and a grunt in a ribbon making factory. Soul destroying jobs weren't something he was particularly keen on – so he spent some time at university earning an extremely expensive piece of paper. It was here that he wrangled a job at Clemenger Harvie Edge, and started working with Jane. James has since had a haircut, found another job in advertising and figured out that he was good at something. He’s won a modest sack of awards while working on clients like Coca-Cola, American Express and Qantas. Along with Brian Merrifield, Damian Damjanovski and Jane Burhop, he founded Common Ventures; a strategic and creative agency hell-bent on making awesome things that make sense. James recently won B&T's 30 under 30 – an award regarded as the leading showcase for the brightest young talent working across marketing communications.