James joined CERN in 1990, first in an IT role, where he was instrumental in developing CERN’s web-based document processing system. He transitioned to HR in 2007 and worked in various roles, including Head of Talent Acquisition, until he rose to head of HR in 2016.

James leads HR strategy and operations for an organisation with almost 18,000 members. He is currently in charge of CERN’s onboarding, talent development, and diversity & inclusion programmes, as well as gathering feedback on the organisation’s performance and on employee satisfaction. He is also sponsoring the Work Well Feel Well initiative to identify the causes of stress and increase performance.

With almost 30 years’ experience at CERN, James knows what it means to continually innovate and implement transformative processes in a leading international organisation. A seasoned HR expert,  James is a member of the advisory board for the HR Grapevine Magazine and contributing author for two Masters-level HR books.