James Halstead

Council Member

James Halstead is currently General Manager at IMD Translation Ltd. He is also a Chinese-English translator, holding Chartered Linguist status with the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in Chinese, James excelled in the UK Civil Service Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Mandarin Chinese language examination and previously worked extensively in the UK Government’s FCDO China Network at both the British Consulate General in Shanghai and the British Embassy in Beijing. Upon returning to the UK several years ago, James immersed himself in the language sector, taking on roles as a linguist, manager, and, serving on the secretariat and advisory board of the Association for Speakers of Chinese as a Second Language and also serving a tenure as co-Chair from 2018 to 2020, as a sector advocate. Hailing from West Yorkshire, James’s passions outside of the office include traditional martial arts (he holds a black belt in jujitsu) and classic rock music (he’s an avid fan of The Stranglers). Loving of chocolate, but averse to onions, James is deeply fascinated by linguistic anthropology and the rich tapestry of global history and geopolitics, with a particular interest in ancient civilisations.