James Buckner is the Chief Information Officer and the Director of Technology & Innovation for the City of Tampa. In this capacity he leads enterprise-wide information technology services and strategic planning support for the Mayor and senior staff. His focus is on customer service, enterprise modernization, common architecture development, interoperability, governance and metrics.

Appointed by the Mayor to establish and lead the City's task force called "Changing the Business of Government". This task force consists of 17 critical leaders across multiple City functions who work together to identify and implement efficiency and cost savings ideas. During Phase I of the effort, the team has implemented ideas that will annually save $3.4M of the City's budget. Ideas from Phase II and beyond will save additional millions of dollars. Some ideas are technical in nature but most focus on business process improvements in diverse areas such as fleet management, security services, janitorial services, financial/asset management and organizational efficiencies.

Prior to joining the City staff, Mr. Buckner served the Department of Defense for more than 15 years, with nine years as a member of the US Senior Executive Service. He was CIO of the Army Materiel Command for six years, managing more than 4,000 information technology professionals around the world. Prior to his Army assignment, he led the DOD Center for Technology Standards and served as the Deputy Commander for the Air Force's Computer Systems Division. Before joining the Federal government, he led and contributed to many NASA research and development projects as a contractor with McDonnell Douglas and Computer Sciences Corporation.

Mr. Buckner's awards and recognitions include the Army Exceptional Civilian Service Award, the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Spaceweek Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2000, he received the Federal 100 Award recognizing the 100 persons in government and industry who have had the most profound positive effect on information technology in America. He has served in numerous advisory capacities including the advisory boards of five major universities.

Mr. Buckner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Houston and a Management Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University.