The Financial Accounting Foundation’s board of trustees has named Jeffrey Previdi, a current member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, as vice chairman of GASB.
Before joining GASB, he spent more than two decades at Standard Poor’s Ratings Services. More recently he was managing director and project leader in SP’s risk program, where he spearheaded analysis and implementation of the extensive credit agency reforms mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. He was a municipal credit analyst at SP before taking a leadership role there.
He joined GASB as a board member last July and will succeed outgoing GASB vice chairman Jan Sylvis on July 1. She has served in the vice chair’s role since Jan. 1, 2015 and will have spent a total of 10 years at the board when her term expires on June 30.
Previdi will be working closely with GASB chairman David Vaudt on leading the board, starting this summer. “In a short timeframe, Jeff’s perspective has made him a true asset to the Board,” Vaudt said in a statement. “As vice chairman, I’m confident his efforts to enrich engagement with users and other stakeholders will help the board draw the kind of input needed to reach better-informed decisions on a range of standard-setting issues. Jan Sylvis’s time as vice chairman helped to usher in a new spirit of working collaboratively with stakeholders toward common goals. Her contributions have been many and she will truly be missed.”
FAF chairman Charles Noski also praised both Previdi and Sylvis. “We’re very pleased to welcome Jeff to his new role as GASB vice chairman,” he said in a statement. “His deep experience with municipal debt market participants will allow the board to forge stronger bonds with financial statement users. One of Jan’s strongest contributions during her tenure as vice chairman was in stakeholder engagement. Her example—together with Jeff’s background and experience—will help drive more robust, meaningful engagement with the user community—a critical constituency.”