Title: Director of Strategy, Treasury, Office of the CFO
Firm: City of Detroit
Age: 31
While studying comparative literature at the University of Michigan, Kevin Bain met an adjunct professor who worked at the World Bank. He became intrigued with the idea of helping solve the problems of the poorest people in the world and he had a great interest in world travel. Bain decided he would set a five-year goal to work at the World Bank.
After working in investment banking at Citigroup and graduating from the Harvard Kennedy School, Bain achieved his goal and landed a job at The World Bank. “I loved it. I worked on climate resilient infrastructure and I worked on projects all over the world. Then the pandemic happened,” recalled Bain. “I was not travelling anymore, and I wanted to be closer to my family, so I kept my job, but moved back to Michigan.”
After three years, Bain was ready to take his next step and joined the city of Detroit. After holding positions as associate debt manager and debt manager, today Bain is the director of strategy in the finance department, a position he has held for a little less than a year. Bain leads the strategic projects of the CFO and treasurer, while managing the city’s debt financing and debt portfolio. “I love what I am doing now. With my background in policy and international financing, I tend to get pulled into a lot of projects, which is great,” said Bain.
“I look forward to continuing to work on interesting projects and taking on more responsibility. Detroit has come so far since its bankruptcy, but there is still so much to do here. This is not just about business, it’s about affordable housing, sustainability and the environment. I am excited to see what’s ahead,” Bain said.