James is a Bates Group Consulting and Testifying Expert who has over 25 years of experience supporting insurance and investment products and began his career with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. The insurance products include life and annuities while investment products include both traditional and alternative strategies covering fundamental long-short equity, merger arb, convert arb, public fixed income, private credit, private equity and venture capital.
James has registered new advisers, completed mock regulatory exams, conducted due diligence on acquisitions, built out of compliance infrastructure, and interfaced with regulators such as the SEC, Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and New York, FINRA, the FCA, Department of Labor, among others.
He has also served numerous times as long-term, full-time secondee for several alternative advisers who needed an acting “Deputy CCO” to fill staffing gaps of 6-12 months for a $25bn liquid credit hedge fund, a $10bn long-short equity hedge fund, several $5-10bn PE/private credit funds and one $1tn manager entering private credit for the first time.
At least twice per year you can find James chairing industry panels with senior attorneys and other compliance professionals and regulators on provocative topics.
James also serviced as an adjunct professor teaching a Corporate Compliance course at Fordham Law School in 2021.
James is a consultant and subject matter expert in:
Fiduciary Duties; Internal Control Testing and Benchmarking; Credit and Equity Strategies, Traditional and Alternative
Credentials
EXPERIENCE
Bates Group, Consulting and Testifying Expert, 2026 – Present and 2020 – 2022
Kroll LLC, Director Compliance Consulting, New York, NY, 2024 – 2025
Independent Regulatory Consultant, New York, NY, 2020 – 2024
Arena Financial Services, LLC, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer, New York, NY, 2016 – 2020
Arena Investors, LP, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer, New York, NY, 2015 – 2019
Prudential Fixed Income, 2nd Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, Newark, NJ, 2010 – 2015
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Independent Regulatory Consultant, New York, NY, 2009 – 2010
UBS Global Asset Management, 2005 – 2009; Global Head of Compliance Risk Assessment, 2008 –2009; Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer (US), Chicago, IL and New York, NY, 2005 – 2008
Ernst & Young LLP, Director, Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance, New York, NY, 2003 – 2005
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Director, Regulatory Consulting Group, New York, NY, 2002 – 2003
Zero Gravity Venture Partners, COO and CCO, San Franciso, CA, 1999 – 2001
Capstone Investments, Director, Institutional Brokerage Services, La Jolla CA, 1998 – 1999
Summit Capital Partners, VP, Operations and Compliance, Seattle WA, 1997 – 1998
Prudential Insurance Company, CCO, Newark, NJ, 1994 – 1997
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Senior Compliance Examiner, Investment Companies Branch, New York, NY, 1990 – 1994
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science (BS), Corporate Finance, Indiana University School of Business, Bloomington, IN
PROFECSSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/LICENSING
FINRA Series 14, 24, 99, 7, 63, and 65
Securities Industry Essentials (SIE)