FL: HART CFO Jeff Seward Named Tampa Bay Business Journal 2014 CFO of the Year in Government Agency Category

Jeff Seward, Chief Financial Officer of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, has been named CFO of the Year in the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 2014 CFO of the Year Awards in the government agency category. 

On Feb. 26 at A La Carte Event Pavilion the Tampa Bay Business Journal made its much-anticipated announcement of the winners of the prestigious CFO of the Year Award.  

The award ceremony is an annual event hosted by the Tampa Bay Business Journal to recognize top financial executives and finalists are chosen by an independent panel of judges. The event honors chief financial officers from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, Polk and Hernando.     

Six distinct industry categories are honored, and Seward won in the government category.

Seward has more than 25 years of local government, private-sector and military experience, providing leadership for various areas, including financial advising, strategic planning, economic development and auditing.    

As CFO, Seward is responsible for accounting and financial reporting, budget, cash management, internal audit, procurement, contracts administration, grants and planning. Those vitally important departments execute the long-term financial strategy of HART, manage major capital projects, secure grants to enhance our current infrastructure and implement investment tools to improve fiscal sustainability.

His latest accomplishment is establishing the regional revenue collection working group with six other regional transit agencies as well as partnerships with the FDOT and TBARTA to establish a streamlined fare collection system where passengers, regardless of where they live or transit service they use, can move between counties in the region with one single smart card.  This is the first of its kind public transportation regional partnership in the Tampa Bay area.  Partnering with FDOT will allow this to be a model that is used elsewhere in the state of Florida.

"This recognition is well deserved and we're fortunate to have Jeff, a proven leader and dedicated HART employee, as our CFO," said HART CEO, Philip R. Hale. "The CFO of the Year award in the government category was competitive and we're happy that Jeff has been recognized for his unique vision and exceptional execution."  

"I am truly humbled by this recognition and I appreciate the opportunity that Mr. Hale, our CEO, has given me to help move this organization forward, but it is the HART Board and staff that truly deserve the accolades for getting HART to where it is today, and that is a provider of public transportation for over 14 million passengers a year - that is an achievement," Seward said.