James Lum

James is a partner in Bridgespan’s Boston office and serves as the organization’s chief financial and information officer (CFIO). In his role as CFIO, James has functional responsibility across Bridgespan’s global footprint for finance, technology, legal/risk management, and real estate.

James joined Bridgespan in 2021 following 20 years of work bridging the nonprofit and for-profit worlds while focusing on building sustainable and high-impact organizations. He has served as the chief financial officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a national nonprofit whose mission centers on creating a just economy, as well as GuideStar (now Candid), a nonprofit specializing in nonprofit financial data. In 2014, while at GuideStar, James was recognized with Association Trend’s Nonprofit Transformational CFO of the Year award. James was also CFO for 270 Strategies, a grassroots advocacy consulting firm with clients across the political, corporate, and nonprofit sectors. Previously, James led financial and technology projects for national and international divisions of media companies including The Wall Street Journal, MTV International, John Wiley & Sons, SiriusXM, and Showtime Networks.

James is active with a variety of organizations and currently serves on the boards of nonprofits, Aeris Insight and Impact Network. Previously, James served on the boards of various community radio stations, judged the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s annual awards and the International Emmy Awards, was president of his block association in New York City’s East Village, and headed rank advancements for his son’s Boy Scout troop in McLean, Virginia.

James is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he majored in Economics and Biology and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He currently resides outside Washington, D.C., and is looking forward to becoming a New Englander.