Environmental Governance. Data-Driven Strategy. Global Scale.
Built and maintained a real-time ratification tracker for the BBNJ Agreement — the first legally binding international instrument for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Positioned at the intersection of environmental law and data visualisation, making a consequential treaty legible to policymakers, investors, and civil society.
View on LinkedInAs portfolio manager within the Global Environment Facility — the world's largest multilateral environmental fund — oversaw capital deployment across five focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, chemicals and waste, and international waters. Simultaneous fluency in environmental science, international finance, governance, and results-based management across dozens of countries.
View on LinkedInLeveraging Microsoft Power Apps, SharePoint, and business intelligence platforms to drive the digital transformation of how large environmental portfolios are tracked, reported on, and quality-assured. Built systems that make performance visible in real time — the operational upgrade that executive leaders recognise immediately as a competitive capability.
View on LinkedInI became an environmental governance professional not because I studied the field in the abstract, but because I spent enough time on the ground — in multi-country programmes, in policy corridors, in data rooms — to see exactly where the gap was. The frameworks exist. The financing mechanisms exist. The political will, increasingly, exists. What is still missing, in too many rooms, is the person who can hold the data, the law, the strategy, and the delivery together at the same time.
My approach has always been evidence-first. Whether tracking the real-time ratification of a landmark marine biodiversity treaty, assuring the quality of a $200 million multi-focal portfolio, or building digital systems to make environmental performance visible inside large institutions — the discipline is the same: start with what the data actually says, then build a strategy that is accountable to it.
The skills I have developed inside the international development system — managing capital at scale, building governance frameworks, navigating multi-stakeholder environments, measuring results with precision — are exactly the skills that private-sector boards and executive teams are searching for as ESG moves from a compliance function to a core strategic priority.
If your organisation is navigating the intersection of sustainability strategy, environmental regulation, and data-driven decision-making — I would like to be part of that conversation.
ESG Strategist · Environmental Governance
The world's first legally binding high seas treaty has direct implications for organisations with exposure to marine resources, shipping, fisheries, and biodiversity-linked finance. Here is what the data tells us.
Read on LinkedInThe Global Environment Facility has spent decades building evidence-based frameworks for biodiversity, climate, and water investments. The private sector is reinventing this wheel. It doesn't have to.
Read on LinkedInWhether you are building an ESG function from the ground up, looking for board-level sustainability expertise, or navigating a complex environmental governance challenge — James is open to the right conversation.
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