One of the biggest and most well-known water companies in the country, DC Water, is led by David L. Gadis, who holds the position of chief executive officer and general manager. Mr. Gadis is in charge of a team of around 1,200 workers and a budget of $1 billion annually. Since joining DC Water in May 2018, he has redefined the organization’s mission and prioritized a new strategic plan. This entails enhancing employee and customer involvement, as well as a dedication to performance planning and business process improvement.
In order to address the dual issues of rising rates and deteriorating infrastructure, Mr. Gadis has also established a Stakeholder Alliance comprising local residents, business owners, representatives of the church community, and others. Under his direction, DC Water is completing a huge system of deep tunnels and other infrastructure that it committed to developing for $2.7 billion in order to almost completely eliminate combined sewage overflows to the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers and Rock Creek in the nation’s capital.
Mr. Gadis has 20 years of expertise in the field, having previously held the positions of CEO and President of Veolia Water Indianapolis as well as Executive Vice President of Veolia North America. He was the first African American president and CEO of that utility, as well as the first African American CEO to oversee a significant utility in Indianapolis.
Life Before DC Water
Before starting his professional career, David Gadis was entirely focused on the prospect of a basketball career. He put in a lot of effort at Pike High School in Indianapolis to raise his level of play and help his teammates succeed. He had been selected as Team MVP, an all-state player by the Associated Press and United Press International, an All-American by Street and Smith Magazine, and had received a scholarship to play at Southern Methodist University after three seasons as a starting guard at Pike.
He received several honours throughout his time at SMU, including Freshman of the Year, Team Captain, and “Mr. Hustle”. The team participated in the 1983–84 NCAA National Tournament before falling to the Georgetown Hoyas. Georgetown went on to win the title, and were led by junior centre Patrick Ewing. David had the good fortune that many of the abilities he developed on the basketball court—such as leadership, responsibility, and preparation—also applied well to the corporate world and the water industry.
DC Water was founded in 1996 as an independent body of the district government by the District Government and the U.S. federal government. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) supplies drinking water, sewage collection, and sewage treatment for Washington, DC. It strives hard to maintain its position as a premier water utility. The mission is to exceed expectations by providing high-quality water services in a safe, environmentally friendly, and effective manner. The company also maintains more than 9,000 public fire hydrants in the District of Columbia, in addition to offering wholesale wastewater treatment services to a number of nearby municipalities in Maryland and Virginia.
DC Water is still under the DC Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment’s watchful eye today, but as an autonomous organization, they are far better able to manage their financial situation and respond rapidly to emergencies. Within the water industry, DC Water has a long history of innovation and leadership. General Managers Jerry Johnson and George Hawkins, among other prior Authority officials, had earlier set up DC Water for success and leadership through noteworthy projects and initiatives. DC Water continues to serve as a role model for utilities around the world, having built the first thermal hydrolysis facility in North America and helping restoring the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers in a historic manner.
In Favour of the Customers
David’s priority as CEO has been to address the equityrequirements of the employees, customers, and communities since DC Water already commanded the highest status and reputation in the water sector. Listening is the first step in exceeding customer expectations. He formed and convened his initial Stakeholder Alliance while working for Veolia Indianapolis. The Alliance offers a forum for feedback from clients, the corporate world, and other stakeholders, such as partners in the government and elected officials.
David and his team have gone one step farther at DC Water. In addition to having their own Stakeholder Alliance, David also established the Business Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council to solicit feedback from neighborhood businesses and civic organizations in order to communicate DC Water’sDiversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) initiatives and to foster discussion on these crucial issues.
Avoiding a “Revolving Door” Environment
David thinks that when things are going well, you should step aside. He has hired professionals who manage the everyday operations admirably and successfully, so he seldom ever needs to get engaged in the specifics. However, David believes that it is also his duty as CEO and General Manager to step in where necessary to remove any barriers to their achievement. He favours rewards over punishments. He wants to encourage managers to provide freedom and support to those they lead since he feels that the vast majority of employees work hard to succeed at a high level. Businesses that use the stick degrade employee trust and run the risk of establishing a “revolving door” environment where top performers leave.
The focus placed by DC Water on “People, Place, and Pay” is also indicative of this strategy. Nearly all employees base their job happiness on these three elements. Delivering on these three factors has contributed significantly to David and the company’s success in navigating “The Great Resignation.”
Advancing with Innovation
The efforts made by DC Water to increase effectiveness and service delivery at the Authority center on technology and innovation. It is constantly looking for new methods to provide tools for its clients and informational support services.
An essential component of DC Water’s consumer engagement for its Lead Free DC effort offers an interactive map showing lead information that can be searched by address throughout the District. Because it puts the information in the hands of these families, it has a greater impact than one might imagine. They are either reassured or provided information on opportunities for correction once they evaluate the database’s entry for their address. That is delivering equity through technology
At the Global Water Summit this year, DC Water’s cutting-edge Event Management System (EMS) earned the title of “Smart Water Project of the Year”. The EMS serves as a resource management tool, an incident tracking tool, and an early warning system for non-routine situations, such as real-time flood and water tracking dashboards. The technology enables DC Water to respond to situations involving the water system and flooding more quickly and with less damage around the District.
High Usage Notification Alerts are another instance of how DC Water uses technology to the advantage of its consumers (HUNA). Customers who sign up for the HUNA service are informed when their usage patterns suddenly alter. HUNA notifies clients of increased water use when they encounter problems like a broken pipe or a leaking toilet, so they may take action before receiving a big bill in the mail.
A boil water alert is something that no water utility ever desires (BWA). But in actuality, every utility encounters them because they are inescapable. Getting the word out to impacted residences as soon as possible is one of the keys to the effective management of a BWA. There are the conventional approaches, such as press releases and phone calls to print, radio, and television media sources. DC Water went one step further and produced online interactive maps that are triggered during an emergency. These maps allow users to enter their address to determine if they live in an affected service zone.
The Sense of Equity for Everyone
David is a third-generation water professional. His grandfather and father both worked for the Indianapolis Water Company. In fact, between 1932 and 2000, there was always a Gadis working there.
As a child, David watched his father come home from work. He shares, “On most days, he was dirty and exhausted from a long day of digging trenches or installing pipes. One day, he came home especially filthy, and I looked at him and said, “I don’t ever want to do what you do. Without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, “Then you’d better get an education.”
David wasn’t aware his father and his African American Authority coworkers had to return to his family soiled because they lacked a shower or locker room facilities until years later. Separate water fountains and entrances were required. The reality remains that David’s father and his African American coworkers were subjected to unjust treatment.
They were among the most dependable employees in the business., but were never tapped for management or leadership positions, despite their grit and optimism. As far back as David can remember, he always promised himself that if he was ever in a position to lead an organization, he would make sure that every person under his leadership was treated fairly, regardless of race, gender, age, or any other criteria.
Equity matters a great deal to David, and that’s why he has such a focus on delivering equity to every person the authority touches. He states, “Whether it is our customers, our employees, our small business partners, or our broader community, DC Water is committed to delivering equity at every opportunity.”
Addressing Difficulties with COVID
From an operational perspective, David and his team addressed COVID in a multifaceted way. David first took action to halt service interruptions and restart services for accounts that had previously been suspended due to non-payment. He was aware they needed to guarantee access to water because the CDC and other health experts kept stressing how important it was to wash hands. Although he was the first in the sector to do this, his colleagues at water utilities across the country swiftly took his lead.
Second, they changed their organizational structure to let as many workers work from home as they could. The Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system was deployed much more quickly as a result of the efforts made by the information technology team, enabling even more workers to work remotely. It was vitally essential for the company to give front-line employees, who had to do their jobs in public throughout the pandemic, regular updates on personal protective equipment (PPE) and the frequently changing guidelines in reaction to emerging strains. These workers showed bravery and dedication to the authority and the customers, and David and his team recognized them with the “Front-Line Heroes” campaign, which shared their motivational work on social media with the public and their teleworking coworkers. That certainly resonated strongly with the teams and has played a significant role in raising morale and keeping employees on board during a very trying period.
A Vision for Success
According to David, DC Water’s corporate responsibility strategy is incorporated through its strategic plan, Blueprint 2.0, and the five “imperatives” that the company has identified as being most critical to its success over the next few years:
- Healthy, Safe, and Well – Is everyone that we impact healthy, safe, and well?
- Reliable – Can we deliver our agreed service level in an efficient and effective manner?
- Resilient – Are we able to cope with and recover from disruption, anticipating shocks and stressors to maintain service?
- Sustainable – Are we able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?
- Equitable – Are we operating in an equitable manner to enable our employees, partners, customers, and communities to prosper?
So, in this sense, everything DC Water does and every action it takes should be aligned with and supporting its strategy vision and organizational imperatives.
David’s goals are to take DC Water stature to new heights. He states, “Whether through our community forums, our ESG reporting, our equity programs, or leading on climate and infrastructure needs, DC Water is now positioned to take our reputation for leadership to a new level for a new era.”
A Word for Young Emerging Leaders
David advises aspiring company executives to be active and keep in mind that choices cannot be made in a vacuum. It is crucial to gather community feedback and provide everyone the chance to be heard on water-related problems that pertain to them, as he has done through the Stakeholder Alliance and the Business Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council.
Written by Steve Sanchez.
