MeetJames Callander

​James joined the Freshminds team in 2003 - working in a variety of roles across the business. He became Managing Director in 2008 and today leads on the commercial development of the business.

He works with CEOs, managing partners and leaders of top investment banks, private equity firms, consulting firms and fast-growing companies, supporting them with hiring and project consultancy.

He helped to launch our D&I friendly numeracy test Mapped in 2018, which was acquired by Be Applied Ltd in 2022. He launched and hosts our annual StratFest conference as well as our webinar series.

Over his 20 years with Freshminds, he has helped to build teams for a large number of companies across Europe, from entry level to board positions. With Freshminds' interim business, he has worked on 1000s of interim projects across the world. He was also an early pioneer of the on-demand consulting business, and works with both corporate and consulting firms, to provide them with consulting talent.

He has appeared in the media talking about running small businesses, managing through challenging times and offering advice on employability and making the most of your career.

James has an MA in Georgraphy from Edinburgh University and completed a sales leadership course at Harvard Business School in 2011. Before Freshminds he worked for Roland Berger and Bell Pottinger. He's a keen cook and enjoys running and tennis. He has stood for parliament twice, and acts as an informal advisor to his wife's luxury travel business.

In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of Inline Policy, a technology-focused public affairs consultancy.

CV secret

Applied for his first job at Lego aged 7. Was rejected and told to reapply "after university".