James A. Williams was designated Acting Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration on August 30, 2008. 

As Acting Administrator, Mr. Williams presides over the leading acquisition agency for the federal government.  He is responsible for the management of more than one-fourth of the government's total procurement dollars and influences the management of $500 billion in assets including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings, steward of more than 425 historic properties, and 208,000 vehicles.

Prior to becoming Acting Administrator, Williams served as Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, where he provided strategic direction-setting, performance management and leadership for the efficient and effective program execution necessary to provide best value for the government and for taxpayers, proactive customer assistance and simplified procedures.

Prior to his current assignment at GSA, Williams served as Director of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program at the Department of Homeland Security. 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.

A native of Virginia, Williams earned 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.