James has personally engaged with over 100 restaurants across 6 continents, including working relationships with esteemed organizations such as • The Four Seasons • Marriott Hotels • Bellagio Hotel & Casino • One & Only Luxury Resorts • The Ritz-Carlton • Ian Schrager Company • Edition Hotels • Foxwoods Resort & Casino • Jean-Georges Restaurants • True Food Kitchen • Fox Restaurant Concepts • Starr Restaurant Organization • The Dinex Group • Global Ambassador Hotel • And others. He personally led boots-on-the-ground assignments, including routine visits, new restaurant openings, situational turnarounds and management transitions across 16 U.S. states, and 8 countries, from Asia and the Middle East to South America. As former Chief Operating Officer for True Food Kitchen, James joined the company in October 2016, where he was tasked with overseeing quality of operational performance for the thoughtfully crafted, nutrition-focused restaurant brand that believes food should help make you feel better. Under James’ tenure True Food Kitchen began 2016 with 16 restaurants across the US and grew to 44 restaurant locations by the end of June 2023. James quickly transitioned operational leadership of the organization away from Fox Restaurant Concepts, helping to set-up True Food for independent ownership in mid-2017, backed by private equity financial partner, Centerbridge Partners, L.P. Prior to joining True Food, James was Vice President of Operations for Jean-Georges Management, spending twelve years with the NYC-based group, which oversees some of the world's most critically-acclaimed restaurants created by 3-Michelin star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. As Vice President of Operations, James oversaw the ongoing advancement of operations and strengthening of restaurant brands. He was responsible for the organization's centralized functions of revenue management, HR and overall quality of guest experience, driving high performance for the $300M+ global business. James worked directly with internationally-renowned Chef Jean-Georges towards the development and launching of 17 restaurant openings across 12 international cities. James is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York.