Finance
West Fargo hires California man as new finance director
WEST FARGO — Willy Galindo, from California, has been named the city of West Fargo’s new finance director.
Galindo has served as a senior financial analyst with the city of Palmdale, Calif., since 2017. Prior to that, he worked in various finance and accounting roles for Princess Cruise Lines from 2007-2017.
Palmdale is a city with a population of more than 165,000. While there, Galindo was directly involved in the preparation and management of a $512 million budget. He also worked on financial reporting, audits, debt service, and the implementation of new financial software. Galindo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I am honored to be joining the city of West Fargo and am excited to be taking on the leadership role of finance director,” said Galindo in a statement issued by the city. “I was drawn to the growth of the area and hope to use my years of experience in city government finance as the city continues to grow into the future.”
The city has been searching for a new finance director since Heidi Delorme resigned in February.
She was hired in May 2023.
West Fargo interviewed three candidates in April after receiving about 20 applications. Two of the interviewees were from outside the region, City Administrator Dustin Scott said.
Following those interviews, the city decided to post the director position a second time as few applicants had prior city government experience.
The finance director is responsible for the management of accounting, debt/treasury, utility billing, budgeting, accounts payable/receivable, payroll and investments. Former finance directors have been paid between $123,600 and $140,000.
Galindo will begin in late September.
Wendy Reuer covers all things West Fargo for The Forum.
Implementing the “Future of Finance Academy”
KPMG in the UK worked with CCEP to co-create a comprehensive learning program for senior managers and associate directors in its finance function. We began by developing a strong understanding of the unique business context in which the company and its finance team operate.
This also helped us determine the best mode of delivery for its globally distributed finance function and identify opportunities to stretch CCEP’s ambitions further.
For example, the KPMG team proposed turning the final module of the course into a showcase presentation. Trainees applied what they had learned to real business challenges and presented their solutions to the board in a business pitch-style competition. Although this added to finance leaders’ already demanding workload, it proved to be one of the course’s most successful elements, enabling participants to put their new skills into practice.
Before work on the Academy began, KPMG developed a detailed plan setting out how the two teams would work together, ensure consistency across the learning modules, maintain quality assurance, and manage changes to scope.
KPMG professionals then collaborated closely with CCEP to co-create bespoke learning content, with CCEP’s senior finance leaders acting as subject matter experts alongside our own finance specialists.
Senior officials from the European Union and Hong Kong are in talks to launch a financial services dialogue, with companies from the bloc keen to explore opportunities in the Northern Metropolis, its top representative in the city has said.
Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, made the remarks at the Greenway 2026 forum on Tuesday, where he highlighted opportunities for cooperation on sustainable innovation and the green transition.
In a keynote address, Rouse said Hong Kong had established itself as one of Asia’s leading centres for green and sustainable finance, and that, as “two of the world’s leaders” in this field, both sides had an opportunity to deepen cooperation.
“Indeed, this cooperation is already under way,” he said.
“Senior exchanges between Hong Kong and the European Commission have intensified over the past year with visits of EU officials to Hong Kong and vice versa. Both sides are looking at starting soon a financial services dialogue to enhance cooperation.”
Rouse said European firms could also provide investment and expertise to support Hong Kong’s green transition.
“This is particularly relevant as Hong Kong develops the Northern Metropolis,” he said, referring to the city’s 30,000-hectare (74,131-acre) megaproject near the border with mainland China.
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