James has held a wide variety of senior professional and board positions across a range of sectors, most recently leading the Innovation and Performance Team at the City of Launceston, previously as the Director of Northern Transformation for the University of Tasmania, CEO of NRM North and Director of Northern Cities for the State Government along with board roles including the Chair of Tourism Northern Tasmania, AusCycling Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania and Chair of the Launceston Airport CACG. James has a particular interest in regional development, innovation and strategy.
His primary background is in agricultural science, he is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Murray Darling Basin Program and has been part of community development programmes in the USA and India.