Biography

JAMES TASTARD, PhD joined Great Lakes as Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources and Administrative Officer in October 2020. As a member of the Executive Team, he is responsible for leading GLDD’s HR organization, Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Learning, Compensation, and Benefits, Employee Relations, Payroll, Risk Management, Marketing and Communications, and Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG).

James has been a leader in Human Resources for three decades, focused on driving business results through the unique intersection of strategy, leadership, and culture. With a distinct focus on leadership, his areas of expertise include developing top talent, succession planning for critical roles, helping organizations thrive in dynamic conditions, and leading large-scale complex change.

Before joining GLDD, James served as a strategic talent and leadership consultant. Previously, he worked as Chief Human Resource Officer at Geokinetics, VPHR at Freeport LNG, VPHR at Statoil (now Equinor), and SVP HR & HSE at Aker Solutions. James spent ten years working and living globally to deliver significant oil and gas capital projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Norway. Earlier in his career, he held positions leading people and organization change strategy, M&A, health, safety and environment, and global human resources.

James holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and received a Ph.D. in Business, Organization, and Management from Capella University.