Fred Wilson

Fred Wilson

Senior Consultant

Mr. Wilson, Senior Consultant with Ralph Andersen & Associates, brings more than 35 years of experience as a local government executive, including 21 years serving as City Manager for the cities of Huntington Beach and San Bernardino. In his most recent position as City Manager of Huntington Beach, he has been responsible for the City’s $374 million budget and staff of 1,000 employees.

As a full service city, Mr. Wilson oversaw all aspects of city operations including City Finance, Human Resources, IT, Community Development, Police, and Fire services. Mr. Wilson has recruited and hired Department Directors in all of these key departments. His skills in identifying, recruiting, and retaining high quality employees, and talent management, coupled with succession planning have contributed significantly to the successes of those organizations.

Under Mr. Wilson’s leadership, in 2018 Wallethub ranked Huntington Beach #1 in “Quality of Services” and 14th of 150 “Best-Run Cities in America.”

As a long-tenured City Manager, Mr. Wilson has extensive experience in all aspects of governance including organizational development, succession planning, municipal finance, community development, and general city management. His experience includes working in cities with different governance structures ranging from the Council/Manager form, Council/City Administrator form, Strong Mayor form, and both district and at-large elected City Council Members.

Mr. Wilson is an active member of the International City Management Association, has served on various League of California Cities Policy Committees, as well as on the advisory board in the School of Public Administration at California State University, San Bernardino. He is past president of the Orange County City Managers’ Association and has been active on various advisory boards throughout his career.

Mr. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Planning from Cal Poly Pomona, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge.