FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2025
Controller Brady says absence of permanent COO & CFO puts customers and city at risk
PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Christy Brady today called on the Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) to immediately fill Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) positions on a permanent basis.
Controller Brady, who is also chair of the Philadelphia Gas Commission, provided the following statement at the commission’s monthly meeting:
“While I have confidence in current leadership and their commitment to the company’s best interests, I am very troubled by the lack of senior officials in two positions specifically. The lack of a COO is particularly concerning and especially critical because this position ensures that strategic plans are understood and implemented in the day-to-day operations of the company and builds the leadership bench needed for succession planning. The absence of this position and the lack of succession planning puts the customers and the city at risk.
“Historically, the COO position has been filled by someone with extensive field experience, typically an engineer or a long-tenured gas operations employee with decades of institutional knowledge and real-world operational expertise, not merely office-based management experience. That is the caliber of leadership and experience we need in this critical position.
In addition, Controller Brady said PGW’s request for proposals for a search firm to fill C-suite positions lacks key details, including clear descriptions of the positions, firm timelines, and other necessary hiring criteria. She also called on PGW’s board of directors, the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation (PFMC), to amend the RFP search to fill both the COO and CFO positions, ensuring it includes timelines, well-defined role descriptions, and to share the list of possible candidates with this Commission as soon as the search is complete.
“I trust the leadership and appreciate their work. My goal is simply to ensure continuity of operational leadership and to establish a sound succession strategy tailored to the unique demands of gas service delivery.”
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