James Hewes started his career in media working at BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios), the commercial division of the BBC, working in their publishing business, BBC Magazines, for 12 years. There he built a track record of success in marketing, digital and print media, events and international business development. He was latterly Publishing Director for Top Gear and Lonely Planet, and was a key member of the team that sold BBC Magazines to private equity in November 2011 for £120m, leading to the creation of Immediate Media.

As Publishing Director of Dubai-based Gulf News Publishing from 2013 to 2016, he had responsibility for more than 30 product areas and launched new brands across digital, live events and print including the group’s first consumer title in Arabic. He was then Interim CEO of The Art Newspaper from 2016-2017 whilst also running his own company, Soho Consulting.

He was President & CEO of FIPP from September 2017 to the end of 2023, re-positioning the 100-year old media trade association as a business focused on learning, knowledge sharing, skills development and networking. Having successfully steered the business through the pandemic, he led the outsourcing of their events business and launched FIPP Consulting, the association’s in-house consulting arm.

He spent 2024 as CEO of PRCA, the world’s largest and most influential PR professional body, kicking off their transformation process, before re-starting his own business, Soho Consulting, to focus on opportunities in the media and entertainment space.