Gareth Taylor and Asa James join Turner & Townsend as directors

Global professional services Turner & Townsend, the company, has made two senior appointments to its UK Energy and Natural Resources team. The business welcomes Gareth Taylor and Asa James to support the continued growth and innovation across the energy sector and reinforce its capabilities in helping clients deliver ambitious projects across major programmes and portfolios.

Alan Sinclair, managing director for energy and natural resources in the UK, said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Gareth and Asa to the team. Their combined leadership, sector expertise and passion for innovation will be instrumental as we continue to grow our Energy and Natural Resource offering. These appointments reflect our commitment to delivering smarter, more sustainable outcomes for our clients and supporting the UK’s energy transition.”

Turner & Townsend is a global organisation, staffed by more than 22,000 people in over 60 countries. The firm’s energy and natural resources (E&NR) team boasts around 1,000 professionals, and works across the power, clean energy and decarbonisation, oil and gas and mining industries. By drawing in wider skill sets from the infrastructure and real estate sides of the business, the team also supports clients with the delivery of solutions across their life energy and resources value chains.

Gareth Taylor beefs up the team, joining as director and nuclear sector lead, bringing over 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry, spanning new build, operations, and decommissioning. Having previously held senior leadership roles at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Taylor led transformative programmes to improve asset performance, programme delivery, and operational efficiency across the UK’s nuclear estate. He also implemented a programme management and asset management strategy that identified over £10 billion in savings.

Asa James meanwhile arrives as director and head of estimating and data, with a focus on digital transformation and data-led delivery across major portfolios, programmes and projects. Also bringing 25 years of experience in project controls, cost management, and digital strategy, the move represents a return for James, who worked for Turner & Townsend between 2013 and 2020, before leading data analytics and digital transformation service for Gleeds. His expertise spans energy, utilities, aviation, defence, and rail, and includes the development of bespoke digital solutions for clients such as Sizewell C, BAE Systems and Rolls Royce.

Speaking on the trends the duo will help clients to address, Sinclair added, “The energy and natural resources sector is seeing significant opportunities as investment is committed to expand capacity and increase resilience as we drive towards the UK’s decarbonisation targets. The challenges this landscape poses are equally, if not more, substantial. These appointments mark an important step in strengthening our capabilities to help clients navigate these, particularly in nuclear, digital transformation, and programme resilience.”