James Pearson (business advocate)

Pearson started his career with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1984. He served as Political & Economic Officer at the Australian High Commission in Vanuatu and as First Secretary, Economic & Trade, at the Australian Embassy in China.[2]

Pearson joined the Western Australian Department of State Development as a Policy Director in 1997, where he led government initiatives to support development of the resources and energy industry.

From 2000 he represented the oil and gas industry in Western Australia and the Northern Territory as a Director of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association before joining Chevron in 2002 as External Affairs Manager. In the role he led lobbying, reputation management, workforce communications and corporate social responsibility in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

Pearson become CEO of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia in 2008, where he led the peak group representing employers in Western Australia through the global financial crisis and local gas supply crisis, followed by unprecedented population growth and a rapid increase in private sector investment.[3]

In 2013 Pearson joined Shell as General Manager, External & Government Relations, where he was responsible for protecting and building Shell's reputation in Australia through significant business change, including merger with global BG group, divestment of refining and retail, and construction of Prelude FLNG and Gorgon gas projects.

In 2016 Pearson commenced his current role as CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australia’s largest business advocacy network.[4] He has led the Australian Chamber’s Top 10 in 10 competitiveness advocacy campaign and overseen a period of significant membership growth.

As CEO of the Australian Chamber, Pearson has spoken publicly on issues including company tax,[5] apprenticeships,[6] public finances,[7] wages[8] and cyber security.[9]

He has also been published in outlets including The Australian,[10] the Australian Financial Review,[11] the Sydney Morning Herald,[12] The West Australian,[13] the Courier-Mail,[14] the Herald Sun,[15] The Advertiser,[16] The Huffington Post[17] and Crikey.[18]

Pearson has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Western Australia, a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.[19]

Pearson is married with three adult children. He is a keen sailor and supports the Fremantle Dockers in the AFL.