Steve Bedard, President and CEO of the Gaillard speaks at Small Business Lunch at Halls
September 7, 2016
The King Street Marketing Group and Halls Chophouse are pleased to welcome Stephen A. Bedard, President and CEO of the Gaillard Management Corporation, as our guest speaker Thursday, September 8.
Described as an “an absolute genius” in municipal finance, Bedard was the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Charleston from 1998 until June 2016.
- What are his plans for the Gaillard?
- Is this his biggest challenge yet?
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In July 2016, he began his full-time service at the Gaillard Management Corporation, the non-profit corporation charged with running the City’s newly renovated $145M Martha and John Rivers Performance Hall, Grand Ballrooms and Salons. This new facility is one of the finest multiple purpose performance hall/exhibition hall complexes in the United States.
In May 1998, Steve was named the City of Charleston’s first ever Chief Financial Officer and continued to serve in this position through June 2016. During his tenure with the City, financial rating agencies ranked Charleston the number one city in South Carolina and recognized the City with eight bond rating increases.
In early January of 2009, at the start of the great recession, the City became the first South Carolina municipality ever to receive the highest rating possible from Standard % Poor’s, the coveted AAA rating. In October 2014, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the City’s credit rating from Aa1 to Aaa, the highest possible rating, making Charleston the first municipality in South Carolina history to hold both S&P’s AAA rating and Moody’s Aaa rating concurrently.
Bedard is a 1976 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics. He served 20 years in the U.S. Navy specializing in financial management retiring at the rank of full Commander in 1996.
Steve spent his last three years in the Navy as a financial liaison to the Department of Defense, the Executive Branch’s Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Congress for Navy Undersea Warfare programs. He was awarded the seventh highest military medal, The Legion of Merit, from the Secretary of the Navy upon his retirement.
From 1996 through mid-1998, Steve held a key executive position at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Northern Virginia working on cutting edge naval ship development programs as DARPA’s Business Manager for Maritime Research.
Bedard is an honor graduate with an MBA from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the College of Charleston teaching both undergraduate and graduate classes in financial management, budgeting and strategic planning each academic year for the last eight years.
Bernadette Peters will be performing at the Martha and John Rivers Performance Hall at The Gaillard October 8
Each month, Small Business Lunch at Halls features a distinguished speaker from the business, civic or political arenas upstairs at Halls Chophouse with an imaginative three course meal prepared by Executive Chef Adam Jakins. Of course, there is a full-service, cash bar for your enjoyment.
Tickets are $30 per person for the luncheon. Doors open at 11:30 AM and lunch is served promptly at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with each speaker. Click here for ticket Information or call the 24/7 ticket hotline at 1-800-838-3006.
Halls Chophouse is located at 434 King Street in downtown Charleston. Parking is available at the Visitors’ Center Garage on Ann Street between King and Meeting Streets, the Camden Exchange Garage between John and Hutson Streets, or at meters on the street.
