Mayor Kasim Reed announced Friday the appointment of Michael J. Geisler, a proven business leader with exceptional experience as a senior manager in the financial sector, as Chief Operating Officer for the City of Atlanta. Geisler has been acting as Interim COO since February 2014. 

Geisler, a licensed certified public accountant with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, has more than 40 years of experience in strategic and tactical management, combined with excellent business development, operations and financial acumen.

Before joining the City, Geisler was the Chief Financial Officer for U.S. Security Associates Holding, a security consulting firm with $1.4 billion in annual revenue and 46,000 employees. His experience also includes serving as CFO at Johnson Controls World Services, a $1.3 billion dollar supplier of integrated facilities-management services. 

Prior to assuming the role of Interim COO, he had served as CFO for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management since November 2012. While at Watershed Management, Geisler was instrumental in refinancing more than $500 million in DWM debt, resulting in annual savings of about $12 million, and obtaining credit upgrades for the department from the three major credit-rating agencies of Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch.

“Mike Geisler’s strong financial and operational experience has been a tremendous asset to the City in his interim role for the past six months,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “His deep understanding of finance, combined with his effective and efficient management, provides our team with the leadership necessary to accomplish my second term priorities, including significant redevelopment of city assets, implementation of the Waste & Efficiency Commission’s recommendations and spearheading the $150 to $250 million infrastructure bond offering.”

The COO is responsible for leading the City’s operational departments, including the departments of Aviation, Corrections, Fire, Human Resources, Parks & Recreation, Planning, Police, Public Works, and Watershed Management. 

Geisler will also lead many of Mayor Reed’s key priorities during his second term, including preparations for a $250 million bond proposal in 2015 to finance major infrastructure work necessary throughout the city. The COO’s office is also guiding key initiatives in the City, including the Atlanta Streetcar project, the launch of 311 service, exploration of ultra-high speed municipal fiber services, and the redevelopment of major city assets including Underground Atlanta, the Civic Center and Turner Field.

“Mayor Reed has given me a clear mandate to make his second term the most productive second term in the history of our City,” Geisler said. “We’re not going to rest in our efforts to continue creating jobs, spurring economic development and improving delivery of services to our citizens. Public service is important to me and I’m honored to be chosen by the Mayor to lead this work.”

Mayor Reed will present this appointment for confirmation by the Atlanta City Council on Monday, July 21, 2014.