Creating the cutting-edge technology that will help the UK achieve its climate ambitions.

Born and raised in Cheshire, James (38) has always had sky-high ambitions and a passion for travel. Both have led him to his dream role, working at Baker Hughes as their Innovation & Offer Development Director where he plays a role in shaping today’s changing energy landscape.

I’ve always loved adventure. When I was a kid, our family would spend holidays in Cornwall and I’d try my hand at everything – bodyboarding, surfing, kitesurfing, you name it. What I really wanted though was to fly, something I think was inspired by my father’s love of flying. My dream became a reality on my 16^th birthday, when I took my first ever flying lesson. A year later, I received a flying scholarship from the RAF and then pursued my private pilot’s licence, ultimately settling on flying as a hobby rather than a career.

While my career would see me enter the energy industry, the truth is that growing up in a small Cheshire village called Disley, I didn’t know a single person who worked in the industry and it wasn’t a path I expected to take. When I finished Sixth Form in Poynton, I didn’t feel the urge to go straight to university either. In fact, I decided to take a year out and travel the world on my own.

It was a fantastic experience, and following that, I got my bachelor’s degree in automotive Materials Engineering from Loughborough University – my love of flying coming to the fore again!

From there, I took my first steps into the world of energy with Baker Hughes, and it has been a whirlwind journey ever since. Travel was to be a common thread, and after an initial period at a training school in Scotland, my fledgling career saw me working in the field in locations including Texas, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and offshore in the North Sea and Caspian Sea.

Taking a step away from the field, I was then based in Malaysia working across Southeast Asia before returning to Europe for 12 months in Norway. Then, a few years ago I came home and now find myself in Berkshire, in my current role as Innovation & Offer Development Director which is a new position for the company.

It’s an amazing time to be in the industry, with so much change and I’m honoured to play a part in building Baker Hughes’ position in this shifting energy landscape. We are so much more aware now of the impact we have on the planet as an industry. ‘Oil and gas’ can conjure up negative connotations for people but the reality is that oil and gas will continue to play a major role in the world’s energy mix. What we have to do – and what we are doing – is change, investing in smarter technologies, becoming more sustainable and placing a relentless focus on achieving the UK’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

I’m now a proud dad, and that hammers home the responsibility everyone in the industry has to truly play their part and help create a sustainable way of working that supports people today and for generations to come. The consequences of failing aren’t worth thinking about, but I’m hugely positive about the sea-change that is happening across the sector, and I’m thrilled to be working at a company at the forefront of making a difference.

For example, we’re working in Norway on a ground-breaking carbon capture and storage project, which is expected to have a total carbon storage capacity in excess of 100 million tons – that’s equivalent to twice Norway’s annual greenhouse gas emissions! Being involved in projects like that from an early stage has been fascinating and makes me proud to have the job I do, working for a forward-thinking company like Baker Hughes. 

There are plenty of new heights to reach of course, professionally and personally. I’ve been at Baker Hughes for 15 years and have seen so much change, but I think the best is still yet to come.