NEW YORK, NY — Thursday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appointed Sherif Soliman to be the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget for his incoming administration. With nearly 30 years of public service and a track record of smart, responsible, and humane fiscal stewardship, Soliman will usher in a new era of New York City governance that puts working people first.
Sherif Soliman brings decades of experience in high-level government positions at the city and state level. Most recently, Soliman served as Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer with the City University of New York (CUNY). During his tenure at CUNY, Soliman stabilized the university’s finances in the wake of COVID-19 and won millions for working New Yorkers, including reducing the structural deficit at CUNY by 77% in two years and securing over $400 million for CUNY labor contracts in the State budget for the first time since 2011. Previously, Soliman served as Chief Policy and Delivery Officer Director in the Office of Policy and Planning under Mayor Eric Adams, along with a number of leadership roles under former Mayor Bill de Blasio including Commissioner of New York City Department of Finance, Chief of Staff of the Deputy Mayor of Operations, and Senior Advisor to the First Deputy Mayor. Soliman also served as a legislative representative under Mayor Bloomberg—playing a critical role in the advancement of the city’s legislative priorities—and is a former MTA Board member.
“A successful administration must have a budget that reflects the needs of working New Yorkers. Sherif Soliman is a skilled negotiator and dedicated public servant whose leadership of the Office of Management and Budget will ensure our administration fulfills our affordability agenda,” said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“Our team is thrilled to have Sherif Soliman as our incoming OMB Director. He will lead in crafting a budget that reflects the priorities of this administration, from universal childcare to affordable housing. Throughout his career across three Mayoral administrations, Soliman has demonstrated a deep commitment to public service and we are honored to have him join this administration,” said Elana Leopold, Executive Director of Mayor-elect Mamdani’s Transition.
“I am humbled by the trust Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has placed in me to take on this important role and work alongside the team to deliver on the affordability agenda. Budgets reflect the values of an administration — they are about innovation and excellence in government. I look forward to the work ahead in building a budget that delivers real wins for working New Yorkers,” said incoming OMB Director Sherif Soliman.
“Sherif’s intelligence, understanding of government, and manifest decency are matched only by his commitment to our city and the strong values he brings to his work every day,” said Anthony Shorris, former first deputy mayor of New York City.
“I’ve known Sherif since he was part of the Bloomberg legislative affairs team. First and foremost he is a respectful and thoughtful young man. He has grown in his career through his understanding of the relationship between Albany, the City Council and NYC across multiple domains including financial. In his time as Commissioner of Finance he became steeped in the revenue side of New York City finances so he has a fully rounded understanding of the City’s overall budget and process which will serve him well as he takes the reins of OMB for the new Administration. The Mayor elect made a great choice,” saidPeter Madonia, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Bloomberg.
Sherif Soliman is the incoming Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Mamdani Administration. Sherif Soliman is the current Senior Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance and Chief Financial Officer at The City University of New York, where he is responsible for overseeing and managing the finances of CUNY’s 26 colleges and the University’s central administration.
Soliman was previously the chief policy and delivery officer in the Office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, where he led the development and implementation of key areas of policy, including initiatives to speed the delivery and completion of the city’s capital projects and revitalize its commercial districts. He also helped craft labor agreements covering billions of dollars of public works projects.
Prior to his appointments in the Adams administration, Soliman was Commissioner of the Department of Finance under Mayor Bill de Blasio, leading an agency with 2,000 employees that was responsible for collecting annual revenue of more than $40 billion. He was previously Chief of Staff for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Operations, where he oversaw the operations and budgets of more than 20 major city agencies including the fire, sanitation and transportation departments. Soliman also played a key leadership role in the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping navigate budgetary challenges faced by major operational agencies.
In an earlier position, as Senior Adviser to the First Deputy Mayor, Soliman oversaw a portfolio including tax, labor and pension policies and the city’s relations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In this role, he led efforts to secure new revenue for the 2020-2024 MTA capital plan, negotiated labor agreements to provide sick leave benefits to city employees with illnesses related to 9/11 and coordinated city efforts to mitigate the impact of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on New Yorkers. He was also executive director of the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform, which produced recommendations for significant reforms to the property tax system. Sherif lives in Manhattan with his wife, Hanan, and two children, Lenna and Ziyad.
