James Burns

James F. Burns has twenty five years of experience providing financial leadership to diverse group of Fortune 500 companies. He and his partner founded Blue Sky Capital Strategies, LLC in May 2007 following a successful career in global treasury operations. Most recently he served as Vice President, Treasury and Tax for XM Satellite Radio in Washington D.C. where he was responsible for the treasury, tax , risk insurance and real estate functions. During his tenure, he directed XM through a major recapitalization and pioneered a sale-leaseback of a satellite for a non-investment grade lessee. Prior to XM, he was Treasurer of TRW Automotive, a $12 billion auto supplier in Michigan. At TRW, his transaction experience included an asset-backed securitization, an IPO and a syndicated revolving credit facility. Previously, he directed the treasury group at Engelhard Corporation (now part of the BASF Group), with responsibilities encompassing capital markets, cash management and investment management. Earlier work history also includes treasury assignments at Diageo, plc and AT&T. James received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania with a major in finance. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Treasurers as well as the Financial Executive International and the Association for Financial Professionals.