James Clifford Foster is the chairman and chief executive officer of Charles River Laboratories, Inc., an international company that works on the drug discovery and development process.
The son of company founder Henry Foster, James joined Charles River Laboratories in 1976 as vice president of administration and general counsel.
He was named president in 1991, chief executive officer in 1992, and chairman in 2000.
He was named the 2003 Forbes magazine Entrepreneur of the Year.
[citation needed] In 2023, Foster's total compensation from Charles River Laboratories was $14.1 million, representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 263-to-1.