James Brooks is a sought-after executive coach and advisor who engages with executives to maximize performance and impact. He specializes in C-suite coaching and developing high-performance executive teams. 

He has consulted with some of the world’s most admired companies, including AbbVie, AMD, BlackRock, Blackstone, Citadel, Carlyle, Cisco Systems, Google, Morgan Stanley, Nike, Nvidia and the NBA (National Basketball Association). He also has extensive experience with hedge funds and venture capital firms.

James was formerly a HR executive at Cisco Systems, where he held a succession of talent management and HR generalist roles and co-founded Cisco’s Leadership Development and Employee Engagement Centers of Excellence. Based in part on leading-edge practices he developed, Cisco is perennially rated as a “Best Place to Work” by Fortune magazine and a “Best Companies for Leaders” by CEO magazine. His efforts have been noted in many leading-edge publications, including Fortune and the Wall Street Journal.

Prior to Cisco, James was a consultant at Personnel Decisions International, where he worked with Fortune 500 companies on leadership assessment, development and coaching, competency modeling, 360-degree feedback, and training design and delivery. In addition, he has significant experience in strategic planning efforts and building selection systems, and has worked or consulted with companies and non-profits of all sizes.

James has a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational psychology from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The focus of his graduate research was on 360-degree feedback and behavioral change. He also holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation from the Society of Human Resource Management. He graduated from the University of Missouri, with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Psychology. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

He sits on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Chapter of Breakthrough T1D (non-profit) and is a Board Advisor to Aris, an AI start-up. He lives with his family in the Chicago area.