James spent 28 years in the UK Armed Forces, commanding warships and multinational joint Task Groups around the world, and reaching the rank of Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy. In his most recent role, as Director Develop and ‘Controller of the Navy’ from 2021 to 2025, he was at the forefront of ensuring the adoption of cutting edge defence technology into front-line service. Learning from Ukraine, the Baltic Sea, and the Red Sea, he led the UK efforts to work with UK, European and Allied companies to accelerate the incubation and iteration of artificial intelligence, autonomy, and digital tools to be at the heart of the UK, NATO and other nations’ Armed Forces modernisation.  In 2024, he founded the Disruptive Capabilities and Technology Office as the UK’s maritime autonomy and lethality accelerator, invigorating a culture of experimentation across the Fleet. Awarded the CBE for his actions on operations in Northern Europe, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his services to defence innovation, he has a first-class honours degree from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree from King’s College London.