22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
City of Boston CFO Ashley Groffenberger named BBJ CFO of the Year Rising Star honoree
There are a lot of variables when it comes to being the chief financial officer for the city of Boston. In addition to overseeing and developing the budget, there's a five-year capital plan that needs to be created and revised, assessments, payment collections and managing the treasury. It's safe to say that the job comes with its share of stresses.
Sometimes, there are so many moving pieces that Ashley Groffenberger wishes her team could simplify it all and just turn everything into an easy math equation. Which is exactly why her staff got her an algebra workbook, which she keeps on her desk.
'When we're dealing with these really difficult decisions, I sometimes look at my team and I'm like, 'I wish we could just sit here and solve for X,'" said Groffenberger. "When I need to decompress, I solve for X. That's how I unwind.'
Groffenberger's career has been filled with more constants than variables. Since graduating from Northeastern in 2010, she has been working in government finance, seeking a mission-driven organization that has a tangible impact on the surrounding community. That goal led her from her initial role as an analyst in the State House to her current role at City Hall.
And most recently, Groffenberger has been named the 2025 Rising Star awardee at the Boston Business Journal's CFO of the Year awards.
Coming into the position was somewhat familiar for Groffenberger. She had spent the past eight years in California's Bay Area, where she worked as the budget director for the city and county of San Francisco for seven of those eight years. The time in San Francisco helped prepare her for her role with the city of Boston — and the Dunkin' Donuts that opened an hour away from her San Fransisco office offered a small reminder of home.
After Michelle Wu 's successful bid to become the mayor of Boston in 2021, Groffenberger's name was floated as a potential candidate for the CFO role. When Wu's administration reached out with an offer, Groffenberger called the decision to return to the place she once thought of as the apex of the world a 'no-brainer.'
'I like to think about the dream jobs I have, and it was always a really short list,' said Groffenberger. 'This job was always at the top of that list.'
The job is not without its variables, probably more than most people realize she says. Groffenberger says that a major misconception people have about the job of CFO is that it's easy to find solutions, or that it's just a matter of allocating funds. In reality, the job involves an 'incredible amount' of consideration and analysis before making a decision.
When you have more than one variable to solve for, things can get complicated. But Groffenberger knows she isn't going at it alone. She makes it a point to acknowledge the significant contributions her team makes to her overall success and the success of the city.
'I will attribute all of my success to the people that I work with. I mean, this job is not singular,' Groffenberger said. 'So I attribute it to the team and the leadership here in the city, for you know, the success that we all enjoy.'
