James Wagner is the Director of Finance and CFO of the City of Tulsa. In this role, he oversees the development and execution of an $800 million annual budget, financial reporting, utility billing, purchasing, treasury and the Office of Performance, Strategy and Innovation. He is the current chair of the Municipal Employees' Retirement Plan Board of Trustees and the vice chair of the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority.

Previously he was the Chief of Performance Strategy and Innovation in the Mayor's Office. In this role he led a team that empowered the organization to use data to inform decision-making and lower barriers to innovation, which led to the City’s recognition as a What Works Cities certified City in 2020.

Prior to his work at City Hall, he was the Principal Transportation Planner for INCOG, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metro Tulsa area. His work included public transportation and bicycle/pedestrian planning. At INCOG, he led transportation planning projects such as the Fast Forward Regional Transit System Plan, the Peoria Bus Rapid Transit Plan, and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan.

Mr. Wagner holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Oklahoma State University and Master’s degrees in City & Regional Planning and Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech.