James Caan CBE is a British entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist best known for his role on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, where he championed innovation and supported aspiring founders to build and scale their businesses. Leaving school at 16, James founded his first recruitment company, Alexander Mann, which grew into a global talent organisation with over 8,000 staff across 20 countries, generating more than $1.6 billion in annual sales.
Following its successful sale, James joined the UK Government to help foster an entrepreneurial culture nationwide. He launched Start Up Loans, a government-backed initiative providing start-up capital to aspiring business owners. The programme helped create 28,000 new businesses and over 100,000 jobs, earning James a CBE for his services to entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A lifelong advocate of education, James completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, reinforcing his belief that both formal and experiential learning are key to unlocking human potential.
Through the James Caan Foundation, he supports access to education globally, including funding a school in Lahore for more than 400 children. Today, through ventures such as Hamilton Bradshaw and Recruitment Entrepreneur, James continues to invest in people, education, and opportunity—bridging the gap between learning and the world of work.
