Jay Olson has been named New York City deputy comptroller for public finance, Comptroller Brad Lander said Tuesday. He replaces
Olson, who has more than 20 years of experience in the city's public finance market, was most recently senior assistant director at the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget.
In that role he was responsible for managing the city's bond issuance and debt service budget, as well as variety of financing authorities and corporations.
Olson has served as treasurer for several issuers, such as the New York City Transitional Finance Authority and Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corp.
"With extensive experience and a strong track record of successfully tackling some of the biggest issues in municipal finance, I am confident that Jay will be a responsible steward of the city's debt and ensure our vital infrastructure needs are funded in the years to come," Lander said.
In his new position, he will be in charge of the Bureau of Public Finance, which manages all aspects of city borrowing for the comptroller including muni bond issuances, managing risks to identify money-saving opportunities and debt policy.
The bureau works closely with the mayor's office on bond issuance that funds infrastructure needs and other capital projects. Its aim is to improve the city's financial position by establishing and enforcing fiscally responsible borrowing practices.
"I am honored by the faith the comptroller has placed in me by charging me with the responsibilities of deputy comptroller for public finance,"
Olson has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, an MBA in Finance from The University of Texas and a BA from Northwestern University.
Lander also thanked Henning for her service to the city.
"For three decades, Marjorie Henning was an innovative and outstanding municipal finance leader whose vision secured wins for New York City in a time of economic uncertainty," Lander said. "She navigated many of the city's toughest economic challenges with a steady and principled approach and left the City of New York on solid footing for the years to come."
Henning is a 30-year veteran of the municipal market. Before her service as deputy comptroller, she was a director in the municipal securities division at Citigroup. Before that, she served as general counsel at OMB, where she was responsible for debt issuance by the city, the TFA, the MWFA and other agencies.
Henning is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the State University of New York at Buffalo (BA, summa cum laude).
The city is one of the biggest issuers of municipal bonds in the nation. Its general obligation bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service, AA by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings and AA-plus by Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2023, it had about $39.3 billion of GO bonds outstanding. Separately, the city's Transitional Finance Authority and Municipal Water Finance Authority have $45.1 billion and $32.3 billion outstanding respectively.
