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Christi Branscom

Commissioner
General Services

Christi W. Branscom serves as the Commissioner of the Department of General Services (DGS) for the State of Tennessee. DGS provides operational support services to all other departments and agencies in Tennessee State Government. As commissioner, she oversees all divisions within DGS, including the Central Procurement Office (CPO), Document Solutions, Real Estate Asset Management (STREAM), and Vehicle & Asset Management (VAM).

Since joining DGS in January 2019, Branscom has made notable strides in managing DGS services more efficiently. Under her watch, DGS and its divisions of VAM, Document Solutions, CPO, and STREAM have been honored with industry-leading awards in their respective fields.

In 2019, VAM received the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators’ Fleet Excellence Award. In addition, Document Solutions was the recipient of the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association’s (IPMA) National Print Center of the Year Award in 2019 and its Innovation Award in 2022. In 2021 and 2022, CPO was recognized with a George A. Cronin Award for Excellence (Bronze) by the National Association of State Procurement Officers (NASPO). In 2022, STREAM received the Excellence through Collaboration Award from the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) for their partnership with Ernst & Young on the State of Tennessee’s Real Estate Master Plan.

The Department of General Services also received the Innovations in State Government Award from NASCA in the category of Employee Engagement and Experience for Culture Transformation in 2021 and has been recognized as a Top Workplace in Middle Tennessee four years in a row since 2020, progressively moving up with each passing year, based on Energage’s anonymous, research-backed, employee engagement survey.

Most recently, Governor Bill Lee proposed the most significant capital budget in history, prioritizing deferred maintenance of existing State facilities and reducing and reconfiguring the State’s real estate footprint. This historic budget also included the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy, the State’s largest capital budget project ever at $415M. Additionally, several high-profile capital improvement projects have been completed during Branscom’s tenure, including renovations to the historic John Sevier Building, the new Library and Archives Building, and the opening of several new facilities at popular State parks across Tennessee.

In 2023, Branscom was named a Woman of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal, and she was awarded the prestigious National Ray Walton Leadership Award by the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA). She is the Immediate Past President of NASCA and serves on several boards, including the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, the Leadership Tennessee Board of Directors, and the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Board of Directors.

Branscom is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, where she began her career in public service. Most recently, she served as Deputy to the Mayor/Chief Operating Officer for the City of Knoxville following a promotion from Senior Director of Public Works—making her the first female to be named to either position in Knoxville history. Before her tenure in public service, Branscom enjoyed a successful career as COO/General Counsel and Principal Managing Real Estate Broker at Partners Development for 25 years. Additionally, she established Grace Construction in 2003.

Branscom received her Bachelor of Science in finance cum laude from the University of Tennessee and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis. She is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Knoxville and a 2017 graduate of Leadership Tennessee.