James became Chair of Mott MacDonald’s Executive Board in August 2022. He joined Mott MacDonald as a graduate in 1990 after studying civil and structural engineering, beginning his career as an engineer in UK water business. He worked on major civil engineering projects in Hong Kong and then returned to the UK in 2002 to hold several senior leadership positions, being appointed to the Executive Board in 2017 and as Group managing director in 2019. He has been instrumental in shaping Mott MacDonald’s award-winning approach to equality, diversity and inclusion – galvanising colleague engagement and championing collaboration with our clients to advance improvements in the wider industry. James has also had a leading role in several core initiatives such as embedding carbon reduction in operational and project decision making and expanding support for clients to tackle climate change and build resilience. James was a member of the UK Green Construction Board’s Infrastructure Working Group, which produced the seminal Infrastructure Carbon Review (ICR) for HM Treasury in 2013, followed by the world’s first international standard for managing infrastructure carbon, PAS 2080.
