WASHINGTON–After winning the primary in September, one of presumptive Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s first decisions was to announce he would nominate Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi to another five-year term.

            In an interview with Asian Fortune, Mayor-elect Fenty (D) elaborated on the reasons he’s retaining the man most responsible for putting the D.C. government in the black. In 2000, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), Fenty’s predecessor, had appointed Gandhi as CFO at the time District finances were in the red.

            Fenty, who will assume office on January 2, said, "Nat, he’s just such an intelligent, able, competent worker. He loves the District of Columbia. He always makes sure the finances are in order, and he’s gonna continue to do that."

            The young (35), energetic and good-looking mayor-elect added, smiling, "The residents of the District of Columbia told me, ‘Fenty, we’re gonna elect you, but you’ve gotta make sure to keep the finances in order’–and that’s why we made sure we hired Gandhi."

            "We’re gonna have a very inclusive government." he stressed. "Not only making sure that the government serves people from all different backgrounds and nationalities, but that there are people from all different backgrounds in the top level of my administration."

            Gandhi was Asian Fortune’s first subject for its profile series on outstanding Asian Americans. He’s smart, confident and remains unchanged despite his D.C. “savior” tag. Asked by this writer at a recent Asia Society event on his plans after Mayor Williams steps down from office, he leaned forward and cheerfully replied, "I don’t worry about tomorrow."

Independent CFO

With the future of the capital’s baseball team resting partly on his decisions, making him stay on the job was a wise move. Gandhi’s track record as a public administrator is solid.   He became CFO in June 2000. In November 2001, the D.C. Council unanimously approved Mayor William’s nomination of Gandhi to a new five-year term as CFO. As CFO, Gandhi is responsible for the city’s finances, including about $7 billion in annual operating and capital funds.

            As the independent CFO, he manages the District’s financial operations. These include over 1,000 staff members in tax and revenue administration; the treasury, comptroller and budget offices; economic and fiscal analysis and revenue estimation functions; agency financial operations; and lottery operations.

            Gandhi works closely with congressional committees and the US Office of Management and Budget staff that oversee District affairs. He also regularly interacts with the Wall Street financial community, including rating agencies, regarding the District’s financial matters.

            He has built on the District’s financial progress by securing several rating upgrades for its general obligation bonds from the major rating agencies. This includes a return to an ‘A’ rating from Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Ratings–the first ‘A’ level rating for the District since 1995, and the first ‘A’ level rating ever from Moody’s Investors Service. In 2005, Standard and Poor’s further raised its rating for the District to ‘A-plus,’ the highest ever for the city’s borrowings.

            Before becoming CFO, Gandhi was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Tax and Revenue, which annually collects about $4 billion in local revenues. When he joined the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) in 1997, its revenue base was shrinking, and with it, employee morale. Gandhi successfully turned the situation around. Under his leadership, OTR had more tax revenue than in previous years and instead of projected deficits, there were huge surpluses. He also started a one-stop, walk-in Customer Service Center to improve public outreach.

            Gandhi holds a doctorate in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Atlanta University, and an LLB and BCom in accounting from the University of Bombay.