James Marzocca

James Marzocca has led the delivery of some of Hatch’s most challenging metals study and execution projects since 1996, propelling him to his board appointment in 2017.

With more than 40 years of mining, smelting, refining, and minerals processing experience, James served as the global managing director for project management and construction before transitioning to his current role as vice chair in 2024.

As vice chair, he manages the Commissioning, Operational Readiness, and Ramp-Up Excellence (CORE) business practice. He also chairs the Major Project Delivery and Sponsorship committee and is the chairperson or a member of several other vice chair committees, including Client Care and Engagement, Audit, and Executive Health and Safety. Concurrent to this, he also works to establish and develop Hatch’s global Contractor Delivery (CD) practice and serves as an executive sponsor on over 12 major projects, overseeing approximately 150 people.

James began his career at Gencor in South Africa after completing his bachelor of science in engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1981; he received both the Gencor and Arthur Trevor Williams scholarships.

At Gencor, James was the youngest resident engineer appointed to the Impala Platinum Base and Precious Metals Refineries. He progressed to become the first non-metallurgical production manager appointed at the Impala Platinum Smelter and Minerals Processing facility—the second largest producer of platinum group metals in the world.

Bringing his expertise to Hatch in the mid-’90s, James delivered projects and led both owners’ and EPCM teams across South Africa, Canada, the United States, New Caledonia, Malaysia, China, Australia, Brazil, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

James holds a master of business leadership and was a member of the “Top Group” at the University of South Africa during his studies. He has received two South African Government Engineer’s Certificates of Competency, for Factories OHSA and for Mines and Minerals.

In his spare time, James loves playing an active role in mentoring and supporting the next generation of engineers and is always happy to chat with anyone looking for career advice. He is also an avid follower of Formula 1, rugby, and soccer, and has collected wine from a very young age.

James speaks fluent English, Afrikaans, and Italian, and dabbles in French and Portuguese, as well.