Detroit Financial Advisory Board's First 3 Appointees Named

City and state officials appointed three high-powered executives with experience in finance, restructuring and government on Thursday to serve on Detroit's financial advisory board, a panel that will have significant control over the city's fiscal future.


The three -- the first to be named to the nine-member board -- were former state Treasurer Robert Bowman, Darrell Burks, a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ken Whipple, board chairman at the executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.


"I am pleased that we have been able to call on such uniquely talented individuals in making these initial appointments," Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement. "The financial advisory board will play a critical role in guiding the reinvention of Detroit. Each of these appointees is committed to the future of the city and our state."


Added Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: "These are important appointments which set the tone for the caliber of people and the type of collaboration that is essential to the transformation of Detroit. My administration looks forward to working closely with these talented executives and the other members who will be appointed to the advisory board."


None of the first three appointees are Detroit residents, notable given Bing and City Council's initial hostility to state intervention in Detroit. During his State of the City address in March, Bing said, "Detroit must preserve its financial integrity and maintain control of its future," and back in December, he insisted, "Detroit needs to be run by Detroiters." (Bing is a Washinton, D.C., native and lived in suburban Franklin, Mich., before becoming Detroit's mayor in 2009).


Bowman "summers" in Harbor Springs, Burks lives in Franklin and Whipple in Bloomfield Hills. Though he is not a year-round Michigan resident, Bowman considered running for governor as a Democrat in 2010, according the Associated Press.


According to the Free Press, FAB members must have "at least 10 years of experience with sophisticated municipal financial transactions, complex, multidimensional governmental restructurings, governmental labor relations, health care benefits or pension matters, or local government management. Appointees have also had their qualifications confirmed by the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants or the Michigan Government Finance Officers Association."

City Council recently requested applicants for the city's new chief financial officer and project management director positions, both required under the consent agreement, have direct government experience.