Rilling names new Norwalk CFO

NORWALK, Conn. – Three months after Norwalk’s CFO resigned abruptly, the City has a new head number-cruncher.

New Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz will start April 29, Mayor Harry Rilling said at Tuesday’s Council meeting.  Dachowitz comes to Norwalk from Wayne County, Michigan, where since January 2018 he was Chief Financial Officer and achieved five bond rating increases in five months, according to his resume.  

“Norwalk has a great reputation and I am looking forward to joining and working with all of you to make it even better from a financial point of view,” Dachowitz said from the lectern during brief comments.

Council members met Dachowitz before the meeting, Rilling said.

The Chief Financial Officer is appointed by the Mayor, per the charter, meaning that no Council action is necessary, Chief of Staff Laoise King said Monday.

Dachowitz replaces former CFO Bob Barron, who resigned suddenly in January. Dachowitz has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard, an undergraduate degree from CUNY, and is a Certified Public Accountant and CFO consultant, according to his Linkedin profile.

He has been an “expert CFO advisor” since 2006, and has served as founder and CEO of a financial and management consulting firm, and CFO of an ambulatory surgical center, Internet retailer, genetic testing laboratory and a nutritional supplement manufacturer, his resume states.

From 2002 to 2006, he was Nassau County, N.Y., treasurer and chairman, when the 2004 Nassau Medical Center bond refunding was named “Bond Deal of the Year” for the Northeastern United States, by a trade publication, according to his resume. Dachowitz also maintained $6 million in investment income despite a 150-basis point drop in interest rates and issued more than $1.5 billion in new and refunded debt, lowering the average interest rate by 100 basis points.

Under Dachowitz’ stewardship, Nassau County “achieved 11 bond rating increases in 33 months and four annual budget surpluses,” according to his resume.