LDC Top 50 2026
James Jarvis
CEO
ClearRoute
“My dad was an engineer in the Royal Navy. Some of my earliest memories are of building our own computers together,” says James Jarvis. That early passion for technology led to senior roles at Symantec and UST before he joined software engineering firm ClearRoute as an adviser in 2023. This year, he became CEO.
The business enables large enterprises globally to get products to market faster and more reliably. It employs more than 200 people across five global offices. “We’re a real trailblazer in this space. My wife calls me an ‘ideas hamster’ because my brain never stops spinning out new ideas. I get huge energy from creating things.”
My wife calls me an ‘ideas hamster’, because my brain never stops spinning with new ideas. I get huge energy from creating things.”
Q&A
What shaped your leadership style?
Every move I made in my career was about choosing the leader, not the company. Outside work, the biggest influences were my dad and my father-in-law. My dad was all about integrity. It was always, “Do the right thing.” My father-in-law was a C-level exec at a global bank. Before I took my first leadership role, he said: “Remember, they don’t work for you. You work for them.” I still imagine there’s a plaque above my office door with those words on it.
What’s your biggest challenge as CEO?
Balancing speed with quality. Our mantra is “Fewer clients, more attention.” It’s something I carried over from my time at UST, a company I helped, in a small way, to grow from 5,000 people to 25,000. We could grow much faster but if you stretch your leadership team too thin, quality starts to suffer. Personally, I have to make sure I’m not racing ahead of everyone else. That’s probably a combination of my sales background, where you’re always chasing the next opportunity, and maybe a little bit of ADHD. I’m very conscious of not putting too much stress on the system.
AI is the sharpest example of that tension. In a rapidly changing world, we have the opportunity to play a leading role, which makes the pull to race ahead even stronger. The challenge is moving fast enough to lead, without stretching the team or the system too thin. It’s a balance we manage every day.
What does success look like in 10 years?
I’d love to be able to spend more of my time supporting other entrepreneurs and young people finding their feet in business or the world at large, whether that’s coaching, mentoring, investing or sitting on boards. We recently sponsored the McLean brothers’ unsupported row across the Pacific and even have one of their signed oars hanging in the office. I am becoming more active in the McLean Foundation, following the support ClearRoute gave during their Pacific campaign. I’m looking forward to working together on new corporate relationships, boosting revenue streams and shaping their ongoing strategy, all with the purpose of helping deprived communities gain access to clean water.
