After a successful career as a wheat buying director in the UK Flour Milling industry, James joined BITA in 1996. His tenure as Secretary-General has coincided with significant growth for the trade association and seen it rise to a pre-eminent position as the voice of the material handling industry.
During his career with BITA, James has worked with ten Presidents and been instrumental in firstly establishing, and then developing IMHE Ltd, Consolidated Fork Truck Services (CFTS) and what is now, F-TEC, the industry training centre, based in Swindon. BITA has a 50 per cent shareholding in all three organisations.
In 2019, James helped BITA strengthen its profile as the leading advocate for higher safety standards across the industry through the successful launch of National Forklift Safety Day in the UK.