Sir James is Director of Wates Group, having served as Chairman between 2013 and 2023.
Sir James is the Chairman of Vestey Holdings Ltd, Chairman of Tewke, and on the Board of The King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Previous positions have included Chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Chairman of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Trust, Co-chair of the trade association Build UK, and Co-chair of the government-sponsored Infrastructure Exports UK.
Sir James chaired the Coalition Group which in 2018 published the Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies. In 2012 he was awarded the CBE and in 2019 was knighted for services to business and to charity.