The newly created Mayor's Council on Budget, Business Development and Economic Issues will be tasked with completing a comprehensive examination of the City's budget in order to improve services and promote efficiency. The Council will ask how the City can bring down costs to provide taxpayers with the best services for the best price. The Council will also be tasked with finding ways to spur economic growth and create jobs through close collaboration with businesses and community development organizations throughout Chicago. The Council will include the Budget Director, Comptroller, and Procurement Director as well as other senior financial staff and the economic development team.

Finance And Budget Team Members

Mark Angelson, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Mayor’s Council on Budget, Business Development and Economic Issues Mark Angelson is a highly-regarded business executive who has led several major companies, including RR Donnelley. As a leader in the printing industry during a period of rapid consolidation and change, Angelson won respect for his team building, leadership and his ability to navigate complex transactions. Angelson is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Institute of International Education (IIE), which administers, among many programs, the Fulbright Scholarship Program for the US Department of State. Angelson teaches business consolidation and integration at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Angelson serves on the Mayor-elect’s Government Reinvention and Budget Transition Committee.

Lois Scott, Chief Financial Officer Lois Scott is currently the President of Scott Balice Strategies, where she provides strategic financial advice to governments, non-profits and corporations. Before co-founding Scott Balice in 2003, Lois managed the Midwest public finance offices for DLJ (which is now part of Credit Suisse) and Bank of America. Recently, Scott was appointed a White House Fellow, where she assisted in addressing the liquidity crisis in Southeast Asia and chaired the management committee of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Scott has served on the board of many organizations, including the White House Fellows Foundation, Better Government Association and Children’s Memorial Hospital. Scott earned a Bachelor’s degree in Labor Economics and an MBA in Finance from Cornell University.

Alexandra Holt, City's Budget Director Alexandra Holt has worked as the City of Chicago's Managing Deputy Budget Director and as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environment. Alex is currently a lawyer at the firm Baker & McKenzie, where she specializes in real estate, public law and infrastructure transactions. Holt received her JD and MPA from the University of Chicago, and earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin. Holt serves on the Mayor-elect’s Government Reinvention and Budget Transition Committee.

Amer Ahmad, Comptroller Amer Ahmad is a Senior Vice President and head of the public sector group at the Cleveland-based bank KeyCorp. Until recently, he served as Deputy State Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer for the State of Ohio Treasury. In that capacity, he oversaw more than $11 billion in state investments, $9 billion in state debt obligations and over $150 billion per year in custodial assets for Ohio's pension systems. Prior to becoming a public servant, Amer was a Vice President at the Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Company. Amer received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University.

John Tolva, Chief Technology Officer John Tolva is currently the Director of Citizenship & Technology for IBM. He is responsible for developing new social, educational, environmental, and cultural heritage projects that use innovative technologies in partnership with nonprofit institutions and governmental entities. His team has developed programs that perform wide range of tasks, ranging from contributing idle processing power to the search for a cure to HIV to matching employees with community volunteer opportunities. He created the City Forward tool, which aggregates city data into one searchable online database for researchers and urban officials. Tolva also serves on the Mayor-elect’s Government Reinvention and Budget Transition Committee.