About Career OverDrive™!

As the Principal Consultant of Career OverDrive!™ (Your Platform for Career Acceleration & Expert Advice) and SiliconEdge™ (High-Impact Communications & Leadership) as well as the Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Coaching Alliance (APCA), James is a proven International Executive Coach and Leadership Development professional having deep US, Japan and Asia-Pacific coaching, training and consulting experience coupled with hands-on business & technical expertise.
With over 20 years of industry experience, James has spent 11 of those years working in Silicon Valley for companies ranging from New Venture Start-ups to established Industry Leaders engaged in developing nascent technologies & pioneering emerging markets such as Applied Materials, Toshiba, Wells Fargo, Solectron (Cisco), eBay, Streaming21, Collabria, HereUAre wireless and many others. 

Originally beginning his career as a software developer, he has held positions in product management, product marketing, business development and sales as well as founding several companies. He has maintained a strong Japan and Asia-Pacific related focus to his work and has chosen to base himself in Tokyo, Japan since 2006.

Creator the Crush Any Interview!™ High-Impact Interview System
In addition to studying Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean, he was previously selected by the CLAIR/Monbusho JET Programme and spent one year living and working in Shizuoka, Japan getting an insider's look into rural Japanese society and the Japanese public education system at academic, industrial and agricultural high schools.

From these experiences, James has developed a deep understanding of Western, Japanese and Asia-Pacific business cultures and working styles as well as a proven ability to understand and bridge the wide chasm between East and West, ensuring that professionals and companies are able to smoothly, productively and effectively meet their personal and professional goals and objectives.

He is also the creator of the highly-acclaimed Crush Any Interview!™ system and the game-changing Psychological Jujutsu™ (published by Impact EQ™) which is a high-impact communication system utilizing influence, persuasion, negotiation, assertiveness and leadership skill sets across numerous communication channels, modalities and real world situations. 

James graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in Business Administration/Marketing (Magna Cum Laude & Distinction in Field) and also attended the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business‘s MBA program focusing on Entrepreneurship. He is a member of Mitsubishi Estate’s (三菱地所) exclusive Tokyo21c Club Entrepreneur Program,  as well as a member of PARW and the NFNLP. 
    In addition, James holds the following certificates:
  • Certified Professional Coach
  • Certified Employment Interview Professional
  • How To Be A Successful Trainer Certificate
  • Corporate Human Resources Management Certificate
  • Principles of Persuasion Workshop
  • NLP Practitioner
  • Certified Professional Resume Writer (in-progress)