Title: Deputy chief financial officer
Firm: Wayne County, Michigan
Age: 33
Rob Widigan, deputy chief financial officer of Wayne County, Michigan, has a history of helping to build fiscally stable communities across his state.
Rob , 33, began his public finance career in 2013 as an intern for the Michigan Department of Treasury, working in city management with financially struggling communities across the state for several years.
The experience sparked an interest in public finance and led to a full-time position as village manager with the village of Shelby.
“I’ve always been interested in the fiscal health of a city or county, it goes to the health of the people really,” Rob said. “If services are being provided in a timely manner, like police, fire, garbage, the city is happier, the people are happier, and they will want to be there.”
In his previous position as CFO of the city of Flint, Rob worked with Michigan’s legislature to include $220 million in additional support for the city’s pension system, an influx of funds that allowed the struggling city to meet obligations and avoid cuts to critical services.
Rob joined Wayne County in April, but Flint remains close to Rob’s heart in addition to his career: he resides in Flint with his partner Eric and is a season ticket holder for the city’s soccer team, the Flint City Bucks.
Technology has become more important in the public finance space throughout his career, Rob said, helping to “revamp” the way data and trends are collected and analyzed.
Rob has been active in arguing for the adoption of machine-readable disclosure for issuers.
Of concern to Rob is a dearth of new, qualified young professionals entering the municipal finance space.
“We’re not getting a lot of new talent graduating from college saying I want to be a local government finance director,” he said. “I think it’s going to be extremely crucial that we come together in the state of Michigan to try to figure out how we stop that.”