Mr. James is senior vice president with the American Arbitration Association. Based in San Francisco, California, he is responsible for the commercial practice for the western half of the United States and is a frequent speaker on the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Prior to joining the Association Mr. James was retained by several top-tier venture capital firms to consult on executive recruiting and organizational development for their portfolio companies. Before that he was a director of business development with a startup firm in Silicon Valley. Earlier he founded the executive recruiting practice for a national placement firm. Mr. James also worked for nearly ten years in different managerial positions for a national multimedia company. He began his career as an accountant in the construction industry. He holds a BA in Accounting from Georgia State University and an MBA from San Francisco State University.