James L. Connaughton

American presidential advisor (born 1961)

James Laurence Connaughton (born May 1961) is an American environmental lawyer and the former George W. Bush administration environmental adviser. Connaughton served as chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy from 2001 to 2009. Connaughton is currently the President and CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, the first company to deploy a waterborne data center. From 1993 until 2001, Connaughton served as one of the lead U. S. negotiators of the ISO 14000 series of international environmental management and performance consensus standards, including standards on environmental labeling. Connaughton also worked with officials from U. S. EPA, California EPA, and the Environmental Law Institute to help form the Multi State Work Group on Environmental Management Systems ("MSWG"). At Sidley Austin, Connaughton represented Superfund corporations including General Electric. Connaughton lobbied government on Superfund for organizations including Atlantic Richfield, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, the Aluminum Company of America.

Connaughton was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 14, 2001, and was appointed by President Bush on June 18, 2001, to serve as the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Connaughton coordinated the Cabinet level committee addressing climate change and energy security policy. With Connaughton's leadership, the administration opposed the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, instead establishing the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate Change, a technology transfer initiative with Pacific Rim nations. Connaughton helped establish the Major Economies Leaders Meetings on Energy and Climate, acting as Bush's personal representative. In the fall of 2004, Bush designated Connaughton chairman of a new Cabinet Committee on Ocean Policy, tasked with ensuring action on the U. S. Commission on Ocean Policy's recommendations. Connaughton oversaw the development of the U. S. Ocean Action Plan and the creation of four Pacific marine national monuments one of the largest marine conservation efforts in history.

In 2009, Connaughton joined the Constellation Energy Group, an Exelon company, to manage environmental and energy policy and government relations. He served as Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor at Exelon from March 2012 to March 2013. From March 2013 – February 2016, Connaughton was the Executive Vice President at C3 IoT, a company that "applies the power of big data, advanced analytics, social networking, machine learning, and cloud computing to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of power generation and delivery". In March 2016, Connaughton was appointed President and CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, the first company to deploy a waterborne data center. He assumed the position of Nautilus Data Technologies' founder Arnold Magcale, who took on the role of Chief Technology Officer. Connaughton also currently serves as an advisor on for ClearPath Foundation (since 2016) and SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc. (since 2014).