Fred Wilson

Fred Wilson

Senior Consultant

Mr. Wilson joined Ralph Andersen & Associates in 2019 and has a professional career of 30 years in local government serving in different leadership roles. Prior to joining Ralph Andersen & Associates, Mr. Wilson served as City Manager for 10 years in Huntington Beach and, prior to that, 10 years as City Manager for San Bernardino.  Mr. Wilson oversaw all aspects of city operations including 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. 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 as well as special districts and County organizations. Since joining Ralph Andersen & Associates in 2019, Mr. Wilson has personally conducted over 100 recruitments at all levels of local government including city manager, assistant and deputy city manager, department heads including police chief, fire chief, community and economic development director, human resource director, finance director, public works director, and information technology/systems. He firmly believes that recruiting and retaining top talent for local government positions positively contributes to the long-term success of the organization.

Mr. Wilson was an active member of the International City Management Association (ICMA), 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. He also serves as President of the International Surf Museum in Huntington Beach and serves on the Board of Directors for the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

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.