James Max's Biography

James Max, radio broadcaster, who was initially well known for his appearances in the first series of The Apprentice, was born in 1970 and grew up in North London.

James Max is the youngest of four sons of Wendy and Michael Max. It is a musical family - his mother Wendy is an accomplished children's music teacher and his brother Robert is a professional cellist.

James Max was 34 when he entered The Apprentice, and made the last four in the competition, which was eventually won by Tim Campbell with Saira Khan second.

After being fired from The Apprentice, James Max told The Telegraph:

"The business lesson I learned was that no matter how well qualified and capable someone is to do a job, it comes down to the individual judgement of a director or manager on whether they can work with the applicant."

James Max started work at the property advisory firm DTZ Debenham Tie Leung in 1992 where he rose to becoming a Director in 1996.

James Max spent 1998-2001 at Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division, which he left to join a private equity firm to head up the fund's UK activities.

Since his appearance in The Apprentice, James Max has continued his presence in the media world.

In January 2008, LBC 97.3 announced that James Max, already presenter of The Fine Things in Life and Business Matters, would also host a show between 5am and 7am on Fridays and from 6am to 8am on Saturdays.

In August 2008, James Max investigated the behaviour of banks in Channel 4's current affairs show, Dispatches.

In September 2008, LBC announced that James Max would take over presenting the breakfast show on Saturdays.

James Max stayed at LBC for a while, however, in December 2013, it was announced that James Max was to join BBC London 94.9.

He has also written a column for the FT Weekend's personal finance section.