GSA Names Hill Alumnus to Lead Public Buildings Service

This story has been updated with comment from former PBC commissioner Norman Dong. 

A long-time Capitol Hill staffer has been named commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, the General Services Administration announced on Friday.

Dan Mathews for the past 14 years was staff director for a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee.  “As an appointee of President Donald J. Trump, he will ensure that the acquisition, disposal and management of real estate assets provide GSA’s partners in government with the space they need to accomplish their goals while also delivering the best value possible to taxpayers,” the agency said.

“Dan’s unique perspective of GSA, developed over more than a decade of helping lead congressional oversight, will be an invaluable asset to PBS and GSA,” said acting GSA administrator Tim Horne. “Dan has a tremendous appreciation for the value PBS delivers.”

PBS, the agency noted, manages more than 370 million rentable square feet in more than 8,600 active assets across the country. It was the division of GSA whose leaders got in trouble in 2012 over wasteful spending at a Las Vegas training conference. That caused the departure of then-Commissioner Bob Peck, who is now a principal with the global architecture, design and planning firm Gensler. 

The PBS job most recently was held by Obama administration appointee Norman Dong, who is now at  the real estate firm FD Stonewater. “I enjoyed my time working with Dan at GSA,” Dong told Government Executive. “We share a focus and commitment to managing the nation’s real estate more effectively. He’s terrific.”

Michael Gelber, who had been acting at the helm of PBS in recent months, returns to his role as deputy commissioner.