James Rutherford

James brings his best game to every program and project. As a former independent league professional baseball player, he understands that successful project delivery is about teamwork. His leadership and coaching skills help to motivate all stakeholders to find the right balance of curiosity and focus – and to stretch their minds on finding winning solutions. For more than 15 years, James has played in the A&E industry primarily in program and project management in multiple market sectors. He is a member of ICSC (Innovating Commerce Serving Communities) and ULI (Urban Land Institute).

In his role as Vice President, Project Management, James is accountable for overall strategy, quality assurance and process of program and project management across the globe. He believes that social and community impact, in combination with budget and timeline, are significant factors of project delivery. From a sustainable design perspective, James is a proponent of using all available renewable resources to naturally replenish the environment. “The table stakes are high and they’re in the moment of having to do as much as they can to slow, and try to reverse, climate change.”

As a people business, diversity and inclusion is paramount in building strong teams. James works to bring people together and to understand and celebrate different cultures, beliefs and history, so everyone can be proud of who they are and what value they contribute to the team. His passion is helping people understand how to be more effective, and how to use goal setting and planning to achieve personal and professional objectives. His drive for high performing teams was born on the baseball field where he learned that a team is stronger than the collective individuals.