Financial leadership for the 21st century: an interview with five public sector leaders.(Amy Chan, Cynthia Eisenhauer, Mordecai Lee, Timothy Riordan, and Pamela Syfert)(Interview)

The first four years of the 21st century have posed unprecedented challenges for government finance officers. Yet at the same time, the fiscal crisis precipitated by the 2001 recession and the 9/11 terrorist attacks punctuated a trend that had been underway for some time--the emergence of the finance officer as a key organizational leader. Having shed the financial technician label, finance officers are poised to influence their organizations--and the communities they serve--as never before.

As we move further into the new century, it seems appropriate to assess not only where we have come from, but also where we might be headed. To this end, I recently interviewed five individuals with a diverse range of experience in public management: Amy Chan, Cynthia Eisenhauer, Mordecai Lee, Timothy Riordan, and Pamela Syfert.

Amy Chan was appointed city manager of the City of Sunnyvale, California, in November 2004. Prior to this appointment, she served as assistant city manager for 10 years and as director of finance for 11 years. Chan has been closely involved in the long-term planning and performance measurement efforts that have earned Sunnyvale national acclaim as a progressive government. She served on the GFOA Executive Board from 1988 to 1991.

Governor Thomas J. Vilsack appointed Cynthia Eisenhauer director of the Department of Management in 1999. She has also served as director of Iowa Workforce Development, director of business and finance for the Iowa State Board of Regents, division director for the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, and executive director of the Iowa Campaign Disclosure Commission. A champion of government reform, Eisenhauer has led initiatives that earned the National Public Administrator of the Year Award from the National Employers Council, the Innovation in Government Award from the Ford Foundation, and the Excellence in Public Service Award from the National Public Employees Roundtable.

Mordecai Lee is associate professor of governmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Among other responsibilities, he coordinates govtraining.org, the University of Wisconsin's online catalog of educational programs designed to meet the professional development needs of government officials and managers. Lee has served as a Wisconsin state senator and state representative, and as a member of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage Commission, where he chaired the Finance and Personnel Committee.

Timothy Riordan, a former GFOA president, recently retired as deputy city manager of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, capping a 35-year career in local government. Before joining the City of Cincinnati in 1999 as finance director, he worked for the City of Dayton for 19 years, serving as budget director, finance director, and deputy director of the Dayton International Airport. Riordan is now working part-time for the mayor of Cincinnati on workforce development and economic development issues.

Pamela Syfert is city manager of the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Prior to being appointed city manager in 1996, she served as the deputy city manager and as an assistant city manager. In 1999, Syfert was named Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine for her work in moving Charlotte toward the Balanced Scorecard model of performance measurement.