FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey has named Thomas R. Bloom as chief financial officer (CFO) for the agency. As CFO, Bloom will oversee the FAA’s $14 billion operating budget as well as the development and agency-wide application of cost accounting and performance management policies and systems.

Bloom, the latest addition to Blakey’s team, joins the agency from the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) where he has served as director and chief executive officer since 1999.

“The FAA is fortunate to land a CFO of Tom Bloom’s caliber as a member of our senior management team at such a critical time for aviation and the agency,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. “As our key financial advisor, Tom brings an exceptional reputation for results and effective cost management.”

"I look forward to working with the FAA team to help achieve the ambitious performance goals of increased aviation safety, greater capacity, international leadership and organizational excellence," Bloom said.

“Tom’s strong financial experience will play a key role in helping the FAA operate more like a business,” said Blakey. “Much like the aviation industry today, the FAA must do its part to manage its resources more smartly, and Tom will help us bring greater cost accounting and control to the FAA.”

At DFAS, Bloom headed the largest and most complex accounting organization in the world, with 15,500 people and revenues of $1.6 billion. As CEO, Bloom oversaw daily operations that paid more than 5.9 million people, disbursed $416 billion, processed 12.3
million invoices from defense contractors and managed nearly $200 billion in military trust funds. While at DFAS, he implemented innovative performance and measurement business tools and began a highly successful Human Capital Retention and Recruiting Program. As a result, DFAS saw substantial increases in service quality, while reducing operating and personnel costs. Bloom also restructured DFAS from a geographic-based service to a customer-focused, strategy-based and metrics-driven organization.

Prior to DFAS, Bloom served in a variety of top-level federal government and private sector positions.

Bloom has been the CFO for both the U.S. General Services Administration (1998 – 1999) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (1993 – 1995). From 1995 to 1998, Bloom was inspector general at the U.S. Department of Education where he directed a team of over 300 auditors, investigators, and consultants. Bloom gained his first federal experience as chief accountant and professional accounting fellow at the Federal Home Loan Bank System from 1985 to 1988.

From 1988 to 1993, Bloom was senior audit partner at Kenneth Leventhal & Co. (now Ernst & Young) where he also served as co-chair of the firm’s Financial Institution Practice and director of Government Services. From 1976 to 1985, Bloom rose from junior staff to partner for two international certified public accounting firms.

Bloom attended the University of Michigan and received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in 1975. He is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager.

FMI: www.faa.gov