Experience
James brings engineering, operational, and executive-level dam owner experience that provides a strong foundation for critical infrastructure advisory.
At Sunwater, he overhauled the portfolio risk assessment process, delivering a revised CAPEX plan to 2035 and influencing the strategic agenda to resolve long-standing legacy dam safety issues, including at Beardmore Dam.
In 2019, James led the Paradise Dam essential works program, managing dam safety preparedness and detailed construction risk planning. He designed and implemented a framework to demonstrate and document director due diligence in response to the significant failure risk during the 2019–2020 wet season. His experience also includes conducting an internal audit of the Rookwood Weir alliance project and model, identifying commercial, technical, and systemic risks. He also introduced innovative risk assessment methods that reduced the Burdekin Falls Dam upgrade business estimate by $300–$400 million.
Recent projects include delivering dam safety training for Directors and leading a program gap analysis with industry benchmarking and compliance auditing against the Queensland Dam Safety Guidelines. These reviews identified governance improvements and recommended changes to enhance organisational integration across asset management.
James has managed or overseen more than 50 dam emergency action plan activations, including responses to magnitude 5 earthquakes, gate malfunctions, category 5 cyclones, active piping incidents, and extreme flood events.
He is also the Chair of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Technical Committee on Climate Change.
