James Laws

James is a seasoned operations executive with 25 years of experience in the environmental industry. He brings deep, hands-on leadership at scale and a proven track record of running complex, multi-practice businesses with full P&L accountability.

Prior to joining Montrose, James spent nearly a decade at AECOM, most recently as Senior Vice President and Director of Operations for the West Environment Business. In that role, he operated an approximate $900 million environmental division, with P&L responsibility across environmental remediation, air quality and EHS, permitting and planning, and large-scale federal programs. Serving in a senior executive capacity, he led enterprise planning, forecasting, risk management, staffing and key pursuits, partnering closely with finance, legal, HR, safety and quality leaders to drive disciplined execution and scalable performance.

Earlier in his career, James spent 16 years at CH2M HILL, now Jacobs, leading large, technically complex federal and commercial environmental programs, including major EPA and Department of Defense contracts. His background spans consulting, air testing and EHS, water and soil remediation, and federally regulated work.

James holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California.