James F. Simon
Chief Executive Officer
Executive Committee
James (Jim) Simon is Oceana’s CEO, stepping up to the position in July 2024 after almost 21 years as the organization’s President.
Simon was instrumental in establishing Oceana as the world’s leading ocean conservation organization and has helped win more than 300 major policy victories to date. He also helped spearhead the organization’s international expansion. Today, Oceana campaigns in nine countries and the European Union.
Simon has extensive experience in policy advocacy, management, and business. As a political appointee at the Department of Justice, Simon worked as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he was responsible for management, litigation, and policy. As a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Simon led a team of lawyers and scientists in holding corporate and government polluters accountable throughout the United States. As an attorney for the City of New York, he brought litigation on behalf of the city, including suits to prevent water pollution, obtain compensation for hazardous waste pollution, and address racial discrimination in housing.
Immediately before joining Oceana, Simon was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised businesses and nonprofits on strategy and operations. Simon’s background has helped him to bring a business-like approach to Oceana’s mission to protect and restore the world’s oceans.
Simon is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the Harvard Law Review, and received his undergraduate degree from Yale University. He is an avid runner and sailor, falling in love with the ocean when he started sailing his first small boat, Vivere, when he was 12 years old.
