PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A week out from her swearing into office, Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker has named current Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel as the managing director of her administration.
With the new title, Thiel will be the man in charge of all of the departments in the mayor’s office and the guiding hand that makes Parker’s vision for Philadelphia a reality. Thiel says even though the problems the city faces may seem daunting, he believes he’s the right man for the job.
“During my 30-plus years of public service, much of that on the front lines, I’ve learned that a committed team of public servants working together every day with a clear, shared vision, can achieve almost anything,” he said.
And the mayor-elect tends to agree.
“And all of these things are exactly, to me, what makes Adam Thiel the right candidate to lead the Managing Director’s Office of Philadelphia,” Parker said in front of a full Mayor’s reception room.
Thiel has served as Philadelphia’s fire commissioner since 2016. He also held the responsibility of being the director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management between 2019 and 2022.
Parker, who will be sworn in on Jan. 2, has hired several people to key positions recently, such as Kevin Bethel, who she named as her pending police commissioner last month.
Despite the responsibilities coming his way, Thiel says he’s more than happy to do the job.
“When the mayor-elect calls, you stop what you’re doing and you listen,” he said.