NYCHA - NYCHA Announces Appointment Of New General Manager Cecil House

NYC Housing Authority


Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 24, 2012
Contact: media@nycha.nyc.gov, (212) 306-3322

NYCHA Announces Appointment of New General Manager Cecil House

NYCHA Chairman John Rhea and NYCHA Board also announce Andreas Spitzer as Chief Financial Officer of NYCHA

New York City Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea today announced the appointment of Cecil House as NYCHA’s new General Manager. Mr. House joins NYCHA from Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States with 18,000 employees, where he served as Senior Vice President for the Operations Support Business Unit and also as the company’s Chief Procurement Officer. Mr. House also managed a combined annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and in his capacity as SCE’s chief procurement officer he also managed expenditures for materials and services in excess of $4 billion, $1.4 billion of which was spent with Asian, African American, Hispanic and women-owned businesses. His responsibilities covered a broad set of functions critical to the success of SCE, including supply chain management and logistics; fleet operations; emergency preparedness; employee health and safety; security and facilities; environment and resource sustainability; and real estate, where he managed 6 million square feet of space.

“Utilizing his substantial operations, supply chain, and strategic management knowledge in providing critical public services – and his experience steering organizations through change – I know that Cecil will effectively guide NYCHA’s management team through this transformational period,” said NYCHA Chairman John B. Rhea. “His vision and leadership, his experience working with significant government oversight, and substantial customer service experience, will be critical as we work with HUD and other agencies to improve the delivery of services to our public housing and Section 8 families.”

Mr. House’s record of leading large organizations, coupled with his diverse operations expertise, make him uniquely qualified to help serve NYCHA residents and families. His appointment is consistent with the bold and innovative changes that began with this year’s release of Plan NYCHA, and continue with the recent recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group.

“I am thrilled to be returning to New York City and joining Chairman Rhea, the Board and staff of NYCHA in meeting the needs of the 650,000 New Yorkers who we serve every day,” said Cecil House. “I look forward to working at this great public housing authority and helping NYCHA to meet its mission of providing safe, secure and well maintained housing for residents.”

The son of a coal miner and nurse’s aide, Mr. House grew up in Virginia, and spent 12 years in New York City. He speaks Spanish, and is a board member of the National Utility Diversity Council and a former board member of the Urban League of Los Angeles and La Casa de Don Pedro, a community development and affordable housing provider in Newark, New Jersey.

Before his time at SCE, Cecil House was Vice President of Customer Operations at Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest electric and gas utility, where he significantly improved the performance of the Customer Operations division. Mr. House is also a member of the bar in New York and Virginia and is a Certified Process Manager. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia; a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School; and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Chairman Rhea and the Board also announced the appointment of Andreas Spitzer as NYCHA’s Executive Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). For the past year, Mr. Spitzer has served in this role in an acting capacity, taking responsibility for all of our organization’s financial planning, accounting and reporting, payroll, insurance, energy, and treasury activities.

“Andreas has played an indispensable role in the successful release of Plan NYCHA, as Acting CFO and charted a path for the Authority to substantially reduce its operating deficit,” said Chairman Rhea. “His dynamic leadership and devotion to NYCHA’s mission make him an obvious choice to carry on this work full time.”

Before his tenure as Acting CFO, Mr. Spitzer assumed oversight of the Treasury Division upon his appointment as NYCHA’s Vice President for Strategic Investments and Finance in 2009. In that role, he directed the successful closing of the 2010 Federalization transactions, oversaw the finances of the Mixed Finance portfolio, and provided leadership for the nascent “Plan to Preserve Public Housing” initiative.

Mr. Spitzer joined NYCHA with extensive experience in investment banking, having served as a key advisor for multibillion-dollar companies on strategic financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Prior to his banking career, he worked as a Certified Public Accountant.

Mr. Spitzer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech and an M.B.A from Cornell University.

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