James is the Research and CIES Module Officer for the International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC) which is the leading Centre for the study of sports history in the world. James is responsible for the co-ordination and management of the FIFA Master International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport at the university. This prestigious international programme, which is delivered in partnership with SDA Bocconi Business School (Milan), University of Neuchatel (Switzerland) and Centre International d'Etude du Sport (Switzerland), has been named as the leading postgraduate sport management course in Europe by the Sport Business International global rankings in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. It is the first and only course to receive this top award on eleven separate occasions.
In 2015 he was appointed an Honorary Member of the FIFA Master Alumni Association (FMA) during the Graduation Ceremony held at the Chateau de Neuchatel, Switzerland.
James produces a range of corporate communication documents for the ICSHC and brings to the Centre a wide knowledge of contemporary sport, previously working for Chubb Protective Services (Olympic Projects Department) in Sydney, Australia, during the Olympic Games in 2000.
An experienced and conscientious international academic programme manager with excellent organisational, alumni relations, strategic partnership and corporate communication skills, James has a track record of building strong and effective partnerships both nationally and internationally. He is also responsible for the management of various academic social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
James works closely with the CIES International MA academic partners at the Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) in Switzerland, SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy and Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland and provides management support for various international research projects and seminars.
He has significant academic conference and lecture planning expertise, with recent guest speakers including the Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell MP (Minister for the Olympics), Jonathan Edwards CBE, Baroness Sue Campbell CBE and Professor Denis Oswald (International Olympic Committee Executive Committee member and Chair of the London 2012 Co-ordination Commission). Conference partners have included The Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King’s College London, Humboldt University, Berlin, and the London School of Economics (LSE). In 2016 James was appointed as Scientific Secretary for the 20th European Committee for Sports History (CESH) International Congress which was held in the United Kingdom.
James has significant media liaison experience and was part of the academic team responsible for the major 30 episode series ‘Sport and the British’ which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
He has extensive sports industry partnership experience, designing academic field visits with organisations as diverse as Manchester United Football Club, Manchester City Football Club, All England Lawn Tennis Club, The FA, The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), Leicester Tigers Rugby Club and Leicester City Football Club.
James was a member of the De Montfort University Leicester Special Olympics Steering Committee in 2009 and also academic co-ordinator for the 2011 national ‘Our Sporting Life’ Leicester exhibition which was delivered in partnership with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), the British Olympic Foundation, Sports Heritage Network, ArtReach Ltd and Leicester City Council.
Away from the office, James is a keen supporter of Leicester City Football Club, Leicestershire County Cricket Club and Leicester Tigers Rugby Club.