Our TEAM
Our team is comprised of leaders with high level executive experience with exceptional analytical skills. Our team takes special pride in developing real world, cost-effective solutions to the challenges that organizations face.
We are a values-driven firm grounded in an exceptionally strong commitment to public service. Our team members have been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for both their professional accomplishments and their unwavering dedication to the public good.
Dr. Bob Holsworth
Bob Holsworth is a Managing Principal of DecideSmart. Prior to joining the firm, he was the Founding Director of the Center for Public Policy and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also served as Dean and Interim Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, the largest unit of the 31,000 student university.
Holsworth has occupied key positions in a number of major governmental initiatives. He was the executive Director of the Governor’s Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness in Virginia State Government from 2002-04, a comprehensive analysis of the business practices of Virginia state government that became the foundation of an extensive governmental reform package. He has been the Director of the Virginia Executive Institute, the leading professional development program for state executives in the Commonwealth. He was Co-Staff Director of the Commission on the Future of Virginia’s Urban Areas, a gubernatorial commission that examined how Virginia’s urban areas could become flourishing parts of regional economies.
Holsworth also has considerable experience designing, leading and managing complex survey research studies, regional data initiatives and countywide civic engagement projects.
Mr. Bill Leighty
Bill Leighty is a Managing Principal of DecideSmart. Prior to joining the firm, he served as Chief of Staff to Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
As Chief of Staff, Bill served as Chief Operating Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia where he instituted a statewide performance management system for all agencies. In 2005, Governing magazine named Virginia “The Best Managed State in the Nation.” In 2007, Leighty was named one of nine “Public Officials of the Year” by Governing magazine.
Prior to serving as Chief of Staff, Bill was the Director of the Virginia Retirement System, where he led the agency to three consecutive United States Senate Productivity Awards.
Recently, Leighty has completed a Performance Review of the United States Joint Staff Pension Fund, a $52 billion pension system and an engagement with the Scottish executive, advising the government on implementing a National Performance Management System.
Mr. Lane Ramsey
Lane Ramsey is a Managing Principal of DecideSmart. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ramsey was County Manager of Chesterfield County, a jurisdiction with over 300,000 residents and an annual budget of more than $2 billion.
Lane directs and coordinates local-government based projects for DecideSmart, including efficiency studies, transition planning, regional cooperation activities, and team building projects.
During his tenure, Chesterfield acquired a AAA bond rating from all three national bond rating agencies. The county also received numerous awards at the state and national level. Chesterfield was a Gold Medallion awardee and a two-time winner of the Award of Continuing Excellence from the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award program.
On a regional basis, Lane served as Chair for two terms of the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority and for more than 10 years as Chair of the Appomattox River Water Authority. He has also been President of the Virginia Local Government Managers Association and a member of the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University. He is also a Vietnam veteran and the recipient of the American Society of Public Administration’s National Public Service Award.
Lane has also recently served as Interim County Administrator in Gloucester and Goochland Counties, assisting the localities through crucial transition periods.
