With more than 20 years of experience, Jim has served as an effective strategist and successful advocate for leading trade associations and corporations as both a consultant and as an executive. He currently represents clients in the energy, agriculture, and consumer products sectors on issues related to manufacturing, environmental regulation, transportation, FDA compliance, and partnership business tax treatment, including serving as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Business Partnerships.

For 5 years, Jim led Bayer AG’s plant biotechnology and chemicals public affairs and policy group, where he managed all aspects of relevant engagements with policymakers, key stakeholders and external partners.  Additionally, Jim spearheaded the company’s government relations campaign to win regulatory approval for its $63 billion acquisition of the Monsanto Corporation, which spanned more than two years of regulatory scrutiny in more than 35 countries. The advocacy effort encompassed multi-faceted strategies to build public and political support at the national, state and community levels as part of a comprehensive approach to winning approvals from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS).  

Prior to Bayer, his experience reached across energy (both conventional and alternative), defense and aerospace, transportation and infrastructure, chemicals and manufacturing.  This includes serving as an in-house lobbyist for the Air Transport Association of America (now Airlines for America), the American Chemistry Council and the Food Marketing Institute.  For 7 years, Jim served as Vice President, Government Relations and Aerospace Business development, leading the government affairs team and participated in public and private market capital raises for Rentech Inc, an energy, fuels and chemicals firm. 

Over the course of his career, he was instrumental in the development of key sections of the electric utilities title of the Energy Policy Act, fuels and other sections of the Energy Independence and Security Act, as well as laws touching agriculture, tax, technology, trade, homeland security and defense.  

Jim has demonstrated his value as a leader of disparate interests within associations and coalitions, as well as serving as a recognized voice for clients and industries alike before governmental bodies at all levels. In doing so, he has both served on executive committees of trade associations and led issue-based industry coalitions. 

As the worlds of public policy and public affairs have evolved, Jim has proven to be an innovative strategist in building integrated and multifaceted issue campaigns inclusive of public affairs, earned and social media, grassroots/grasstops and third-party alliances and coalitions.  Often his role has been that of “campaign manager” in charge of developing coalitions or issue-based engagements, including efficiently managing in-house teams and consultants to advance the understanding of complex technical and policy concepts in ways targeted audiences can connect with and then leveraging their support among key decision makers, stakeholders and the media.

Jim holds a Masters in International Business Administration from Georgetown University and a Bachelors of Arts in Politics from the University of Georgia. He serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia and lives with his wife and son in Arlington, VA.