19. Ronald Stack

His Masters of Philosophy degree from Columbia University may explain how Nassau County Interim Finance Authority Chairman Ronald Stack seems to view Nassau’s continuing fiscal conundrums with such a practiced air of stoicism and pragmatism. For his role in taking over the county’s finances in its time of budgetary shortfall, Nassau Republicans have vilified him. But he was appointed to the NIFA board by New York’s last Republican governor, George Pataki. Better than most, Stack knows when the numbers don’t add up. For 24 years, he’s been a public finance investment banker with Barclays Capital; Goldman, Sachs; and Lehman Brothers. He’s overseen billions of dollars in financings for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California as well as New York City. When he’s not listening to why Nassau County’s budget is really balanced even though it’s not, Stack is Wells Fargo’s managing director in charge of the Northeast region. Someday he may be driven to move to Bora Bora, but right now his thoughts are never too far from Mineola. And that’s how it must be until Nassau gets back in balance again.