James Hall is an entrepreneur with a long track record of building successful businesses. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan and after dropping out of high school worked as a bricklayer, before he fell – in his words – into the insurance sector. Five ventures later he is now the Founder and Executive Chair of Oka which offers insurance in the carbon credit market.
After James finished his Executive MBA in 2010 he became Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre at Saïd Business School. For him the work was like art – helping to ‘cross-pollinate the talent of all the scientists and all the research around the university with the unbridled enthusiasm and ambition of business students.’ Even after he stepped down he remained deeply involved with the School and the University. He is on the Venture Capital Advisory Board of our Oxford Seed Fund which provides startups and entrepreneurs with access to capital and a supportive ecosystem in which to develop and scale.
James chats to Kathy about his belief in service to others, his views on leadership and the part his children played in pushing him back to college, a move which ultimately resulted in an Oxford Executive MBA.
James Hall and Kathy Harvey
The Application is a podcast that tells us about our alumni – their background, what was the driver that caused them to apply for the Oxford Executive MBA (EMBA), what the turning points in their lives are, what their identity is and the tension that often embodies so much of our professional lives.
This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EMBA programme and to mark this milestone, Kathy Harvey, Associate Dean, has stepped back behind the microphone with a number of our alumni to reflect on their journeys before, during and after their Executive MBA.
The Oxford Executive MBA is a transformational programme, that will challenge you to explore the answers to complex business issues. Learn how to innovate, how to lead responsibly and how to navigate change to transform your own business practice.
