James Thompson

Chief Executive Officer

James joined Fairways as Chief Executive Officer in May 2026, bringing over 10 years’ senior leadership experience, in community development and high-performance systems, spanning both Canada and Northern Ireland.

James was Director of Community Living Services with Bernard C. Vinge & Associates in Vancouver, Canada, directing community living operations supporting people across British Columbia. During this time, he led the organisation twice through ‘CARF Accreditation’ which is the recognised international benchmark for excellence in health and community services acheiving the highest possible accreditation on both occassions.

James most recently spent four years as Director of Foundation at the Irish Football Association, where he led all grassroots football development across Northern Ireland.

Since joining Fairways, James has focused on getting to know all service users, family and the staff teams who deliver it, day in and day out. In a brief look to the future, a key focus will be strengthening the foundations of Fairways, building relationships across all five Health and Social Care Trusts and setting out a three-year plan to grow and develop the services Fairways provides.

James in his free time loves nothing more than travelling and seeing the world and the different cultures within it.