Eric Finch started as Chief Information & Technology Officer (CITO- a combined CIO/CTO position) for the City of Spokane, Washington in March 2015 and is chartered to bring a new level of integration and service partnership to the City with an increasing focus on citizen engagement and access to City services through Strategic Planning, Smart City, Open Data, Emergency Management, and other initiatives. In 2016 the department name “Information” was changed to “Innovation” to better represent the many varied service needs and strategic future focus of the department and role.

Mr. Finch transitioned from the U.S. Army in November 2014 as Chief Operating Officer responsible for planning and operations of a U.S. Army Division of over 12,000 personnel. This included a final tour to Afghanistan in 2013 where he was responsible for all operations for two provinces in southern Afghanistan. Mr. Finch is currently an active member of the California Army National Guard in State level Army Operations.

In his previous 25-year civilian technology career, Eric was an I.T. Director for a Fortune 500 financial company and principal for a small technology and management consulting firm for 12 years. His roles included providing strategic direction and tactical leadership for information technology and innovation in the public and private sectors. His private sector work included consulting on technology, economic development, and tax base development for hundreds of City and County government organizations.

Eric has a Master’s of Business from the University of Southern California (USC) and holds over a dozen technical, management, and FEMA emergency management certifications including Project Management Professional and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.