"Jim's really a master at keeping an organization on track toward a specific goal"
C. Stewart Verdery Jr.
 | The President intends to designate James A. Williams, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration. # # # For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary August 19, 2008 |
Mr. Williams designation, would replace acting chief David Bibb. A 37-year veteran of the GSA, Bibb is retiring to take a real estate job in the private sector. He has served since April 30 when the agency’s former administrator, Lurita A. Doan, stepped down, ending a two-year tenure.
Williams 53, was appointed Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, effective June 25, 2006. In this capacity, Williams provided strategic direction-setting, performance management and leadership for efficient and effective program execution necessary to provide the best value for the government and for taxpayers, proactive customer assistance and simplified procedures.
Prior to his current assignment at GSA, Williams served as the Director of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program at the Department of Homeland Security an ambitious identification system to establish at all airports, seaports, and land-border crossings a system to collect biometric identifiers - two fingerprints and a digital photograph - to help keep track of the entry, visa status, and exit of certain foreigners visiting the United States.
The aim is to collect the information without, as critics feared, unduly slowing travel. The program applies to those travelers who require a visa to enter the country - about 28 million people annually.. Previously, he served in several executive leadership positions at the Internal Revenue Service including Deputy Associate Commissioner for Program Management, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for procurement and later as Director of Procurement at the IRS.
Earlier in his career, Williams was Director of the Local Telecommunications Procurement Division at GSA where he was responsible for all nationwide local telecommunications purchases for the agency. He also served on a four-person team studying federal procurement practices for Vice President Gore's National Performance Review. The team came up with proposals that helped guide regulatory reform in the 1990s.
On March 7, 2000 James was mamed named Deputy Regional Administrator and Acting Regional Administrator in the U.S. General Services Administration's Mid-Atlantic office, which is based in Philadelphia. He moves from his position as Deputy Regional Administrator in GSA's Greater Southwest Region.
Before moving to Texas, Jim was Associate Regional Administrator in the National Capital Region (NCR), a position he held for two years. During that time, he built a strong Congressional and media relations program. Prior to his appointment in NCR, Jim served as Public Buildings Service Assistant Commissioner for Information Systems and also for Business Development in GSA's headquarters office. Williams joined GSA in 1986 as NCR's Deputy Regional Administrator. He came to GSA from the Federal Trade Commission where he was Executive Director.
Williams received the Presidential Meritorious Executive Award in 1985 and FTC's Distinguished Service Award in 1986. Among other GSA awards, Jim received the Administrator's Meritorious Service Award in 1996 and 1999, the NCR Regional Administrator's Team Award for Customer Service.
A native of Virginia, Williams holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1979 and a master's in business administration from The George Washington University in 1986.
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