Rod Gould, who most recently served as Santa Monica’s City Manager, is joining Management Partners as vice president for management, based in the firm’s West Coast office.
Management Partners is a professional management consulting firm specializing in helping local government organizations improve performance. The firm’s clients benefit from the expertise of professionals with extensive experience in all aspects of public management as well as knowledge of how the best jurisdictions in the country provide services. Management Partners was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with offices in San Jose and Costa Mesa, California.
City of Santa Monica hired Management Partners several times while Gould worked for the city.
According to the Management Partners website, the company conducted a high-level organization review of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE). The review occurred as OSE was in the process of reorganizing.
“This represented an opportune time to review OSE to ensure that the new proposed organization structure, associated staffing and realigned works groups, and the work program would position OSE for continued success,” said Management Partners’ website. The review cost the city $39,000.
In June of 2014, Management Partners was awarded a $148,000 to temporarily fill responsibilities associated with the assistant director of planning and community development while the city hired a permanent employee for that position.
The company was also hired to conduct an urban forest maintenance administration assessment in 2013 following accusations the city mismanaged funds. According to the Daily Press archive, the company reviewed “quite a few” invoices but only found one of potential concern.
Gould will assist West Regional Vice President Andrew Belknap in a range of responsibilities, including the management of current projects, development of new projects, and recruitment and development of new associates. Management Partners assists hundreds of local governments across the U.S., including many in California, with projects that include performance management, strategic planning, organizational analysis and financial forecasting.
“Throughout my career in city management, I have been consistently impressed with the quality and utility of Management Partners’ work,” Gould said. “I’m eager to join such a committed and expert group of management consultants dedicated to excellence in local government, and I view it as another stage of service.”
According to Management Partners, Gould most recently led Santa Monica through a successful recovery from the recession. Highlights of his five years in office include large-scale capital projects, advanced sustainability measures, a 20 percent reduction in the homeless population, improved infrastructure maintenance and preservation of the city’s AAA bond rating.
“Rod brings an outstanding background of local government service to Management Partners,” said Jerry Newfarmer, President and CEO of the firm. “He learned about the quality of the work that Management Partners can do for a client first-hand by being a consumer of our work, and we are thrilled that he is joining us to help other local governments.
Prior to his service in Santa Monica, Gould served as City Manager in Poway, San Rafael and Monrovia, and as Assistant City Manager in Walnut Creek, California. Before his career in public service, he was a Senior Management Consultant with Deloitte, Haskins and Sells in consulting. He has a BA from Yale University in economics and political science and an MPA from the Kennedy School at Harvard, as well as many professional awards from his time in local government.