James grew up the child of a truck driver and factory worker in the rural foothills of Virginia who always dreamed of succeeding in the business world. He left his practice as a corporate attorney in his twenties at the beginning of the Great Recession, and in spite of daunting odds, for more than a decade he quietly grew his consulting firm, Excel Global Partners (EGP).

As James grew EGP, the complexity of his world increased, James found himself a young man of color and an out member of the LGBT community in the corporate world, and with his talented strategic mindset, earned his place as a unique and trusted voice in boardrooms of corporations.

After a near-death drowning accident in 2012, James went through three years of intentional self-discovery, emerging with the clear realization that he must share with others all that he has learned, and in 2015 released his bestselling book, The Purposeful Millionaire: 52 Rules for Creating a Life of Wealth and Happiness Now, which is as much a toolkit for professional excellence as it is for personal self-mastery. With a newfound outlook on the world, James continued to do the deep personal work to elevate his own consciousness, self-love, and self-mastery, and eventually found himself as a sought-after executive coach and keynote speaker on the topics of: leadership, transformation, purposefulness, business strategy, and diversity & inclusiveness.

In addition to being an author and speaker, James is also an environmentalist and the founder and CEO of EGP Eco, a water reduction technology firm. Its environmentally-friendly patented products, BaseBuilder®, DustHawk®, Firekyll®, and WaterGold® save money, resources, time, and lives—all while significantly reducing the amount of water needed for construction projects, fire extinguishment, and crop irrigation. www.EGPEco.com. EGP Eco is a graduate of the University of Texas’ prestigious Austin Technology Incubator of the IC2 Institute.

Whether guiding his consulting team at EGP, working as an executive coach or keynote speaker, or championing water conservation causes, James is a sought-after thought leader. Executives of Fortune companies have relied on him and EGP.

In his free time, James is an avid reader, meditator, yogi, and runner. He enjoys all kinds of live music and outdoor activities.