Kevin Faulconer
Kevin Faulconer is a distinguished expert in governance, public policy, and operational improvement in large organizations. Faulconer has served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, on several national organizations, and as vice president at the global public relations firm Porter Novelli, specializing in strategic crisis management and public affairs. He is currently strategic advisor at Collaborate for California and Visiting Fellow and Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.
As the chief executive officer of America’s eighth largest city, Faulconer oversaw a $3.8 billion municipal corporation and managed an organization with more than 11,000 employees. Faulconer assisted in restoring the organization’s credibility and credit ratings after a financial scandal that locked the enterprise out of capital markets and threatened bankruptcy. Working with an independent monitor appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Faulconer directed crucial fiscal and operational reforms that reestablished the organization’s financial footing. Additionally, he established the organization’s first independent auditor and served as chair of an independent audit committee supervising annual performance audits based on operational and financial risks.
Faulconer also modernized the workforce, transforming historically brick-and-mortar services into award-winning digital programs and establishing a new performance and analytics department – an internationally-recognized efficiency team that works across departments to increase effectiveness and output.
He has a reputation for collaboration and results, enjoying strong bipartisan relationships with members of the House of Representatives, US Senate, and California state legislature. He has a long record of partnership with federal and state officials and department heads, including the Department of Defense, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Treasury, and Department of Commerce.
Strong international relationships are one of Faulconer’s calling cards. He led a bipartisan push for modernized trading rules realized through new US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement and strengthened binational and international ties to grow California’s position as a trade hub and destination for investment. He served as co-chair of the US-Mexico Border Mayors Association, Alliance on Trade in the Americas, and the Border Trade Alliance, North America’s premier authority on issues affecting the US northern and southern borders.