James (“Jim”) O’Connor, who has served as interim vice president and chief information officer for the past 18 months, has been tapped to lead the Institute’s Office of Information Technology on a permanent basis.

In announcing the appointment, Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance Steven Swant said O’Connor “exemplifies what Georgia Tech needs in a CIO.”

"His leadership, collaborative style and vision for the future are critical assets for Georgia Tech’s success," Swant said. "A transition can be a difficult thing to manage, but Jim has demonstrated superior performance in this role over the past year and a half."

As vice president, O’Connor will oversee the services, initiatives and policies originating from the seven directorates — including information security, academic and research technologies, telecommunications, architecture and infrastructure, resource management, information technology services, and enterprise information systems — that comprise OIT.

"Over the past 17 years, I've had the privilege of working alongside many exceptional colleagues, both within the Office of Information Technology and across the Institute,” O’Connor said. “I look forward to continuing those partnerships to provide our campus with the enabling technologies that foster education, scholarship, research, administration, communications and community."

Prior to his interim appointment, O’Connor served as executive director and deputy chief information officer in OIT, providing strategic direction, leadership, and broad- based project management to all directorates within the department. He joined Georgia Tech in 1994 as a member of OIT’s newly formed Planning and Program office. Among his responsibilities were roles in preparing the campus to serve as the 1996 Olympic Village and leading Tech’s administrative systems modernization effort.

Before joining Georgia Tech, O’Connor served as an Air Force officer in various assignments including chief of plans and programs at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Throughout a military career of almost 20 years, he served as a software developer, IT project manager for tactical air control systems, IT security officer, and project manager for acquisition and management of tactical, administrative and research IT systems.