Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & General Manager
DC Water
David Gadis serves as CEO and General Manager of DC Water, overseeing a $1 billion dollar annual budget, a workforce of approximately 1,200 employees, and the largest Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in the world that provides services for nearly 700,000 District residents.
Since taking leadership of the Authority in May 2018, Mr. Gadis has led several transformative initiatives related to environmental justice and water equity. Many of these programs, such as the $2.7 billion Clean Rivers Project, and the Lead Free DC initiative, which will eliminate all lead service lines within the District by 2030, are now a part of the national conversation around water equity.
Under Gadis’ vision, DC Water has emerged as a model for utility resilience and sustainability. In 2019, DC Water became the first utility nationwide to receive the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) designation. In 2021, the Authority was the first utility nationwide to launch an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) report. In 2022, DC Water was honored with the Smart Water Project of the Year at the Global Water Summit for the innovative Event Management System (EMS), which enables a faster response time to water emergencies.
Prior to joining DC Water, Mr. Gadis was Executive Vice President of Veolia North America and as CEO and President of Veolia Water Indianapolis. He graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU), with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing Communications. In recognition of his exceptional basketball skills and leadership abilities, Mr. Gadis was inducted to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
8:45 AM – 9:45 AM PDT