James comes to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, where Babcock is the Royal Navy's preferred support partner. His appointment reflects Babcock International's commitment to building capability and knowledge at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland.

James's most recent Babcock UK role was Head of Amphibious Outputs, where he was responsible for multi-million-dollar upgrades of the Royal Navy's principal warships, including HMS Albion, a strategic amphibious combat asset.

James holds an engineering degree from the University of Southampton and a Masters of Business Administration from Imperial College London.

"My vision for the RNZN and Babcock New Zealand is simple - the Navy's ships sail on time, every time, with the necessary material availability and capability to advance and protect New Zealand's interests from the sea," said James.  "We want to harness the very best collaborative behaviour from a New Zealand maritime industrial eco-system that is fully aligned behind the Navy's sailors."

Babcock NZ is the Prime Systems Integrator and strategic support partner for the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Babcock operates New Zealand's largest marine engineering and maintenance support facility in Devonport, Auckland, which is also home to the RNZN and its fleet of nine surface ships.

Babcock NZ recently installed a coolant system solution that will save the New Zealand Navy more than $250,000 in six months, and a new major upgrade of the offshore patrol vessel's Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems to ensure sailors are comfortable in any temperature conditions, from the tropics to the Antarctic.