Message from Delaware County Controller Louis Rosenthal
As your elected Controller, I am committed to transparency and implementing the best practices and safeguards to protect County tax dollars during my time in office. I will use all resources available to my office to carry out that promise to Delaware County residents.
My staff and I take our roles seriously and we are committed to ensuring that taxpayers of Delaware County receive the services they pay for in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Louis Rosenthal, Delaware County Controller Bio
Louis F. Rosenthal serves as Controller of the County of Delaware. Elected in 2025, he took the Oath of Office on January 5, 2026. As Controller, he is responsible for overseeing and controlling the expenditure of County Funds, and has the powers and duties granted by the Commonwealth laws applicable to Controller's in counties of the 2nd Class A, the Home Rule Charter, and by ordinance of County Council. He is committed to transparency, accountability, and sound financial stewardship on behalf of Delaware County residents.
Mr. Rosenthal brings more than 45 years of experience in financial services, with a career spanning regulated institutions ranging from community banks to large global financial organizations. His professional background includes senior leadership roles in commercial and consumer banking, commercial real estate, operations and technology, strategic planning, risk management, and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for strengthening internal controls, improving operational efficiency, and managing complex financial organizations in highly regulated environments.
Following his retirement from commercial banking, Mr. Rosenthal became a shareholder in a private investment bank headquartered in Chicago, where he provided strategic, operational, and financial advisory services to public and privately held companies, with a particular focus on financial services and technology-enabled businesses.
Mr. Rosenthal began his career in 1979 at The Bank of New York as an internal auditor. Over the course of three decades, he held leadership positions across multiple business lines and functions, including residential mortgage lending, commercial real estate banking, consumer banking, and enterprise operations and technology. He served as Chief Administrative Officer of LaSalle National Bank/ABN AMRO at the time of its acquisition by Bank of America and later retired from Bank of America in 2009 as National Banking Operations Executive.
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Mr. Rosenthal co-founded ChicagoFIRST and served as its first chairman. Established in 2003, ChicagoFIRST is a public-private partnership formed to address critical infrastructure protection and homeland security issues affecting the financial services sector. The collaborative model he helped develop has since been replicated in more than twenty cities in the United States and abroad.
During his career, Mr. Rosenthal was a frequent speaker on strategic issues at the intersection of technology, security, and financial services. He has provided expert testimony before the United States Congress, including testimony prior to the enactment of the E-SIGN Act and on software security issues within the financial services industry.
Mr. Rosenthal resides in Newtown Square with his wife. He is an active member of the Newtown Square Fire Company, serves on the board of the Newtown Square Historical Society, and volunteers with Newtown Square in Bloom. He is also a board member and Treasurer of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a national not-for-profit organization that works with community-based organizations and local governments to promote equitable, sustainable, and resilient communities.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, and having lived and worked in numerous cities, Mr. Rosenthal and his wife chose to make Delaware County their home in 2020, a community they proudly describe as the best place they have ever lived.
Mission Statement of the Controller's Office
The Controller, Louis Rosenthal, is responsible for overseeing and controlling the expenditure of County Funds, and has the powers and duties granted by the Commonwealth laws applicable to Controller's in counties for the 2nd Class A Controllers, the Home Rule Charter, and by ordinance of County Council.
The Controller’s office has a critical role in serving as the County’s fiscal watchdog. The office is committed to protecting the taxpayers of Delaware County and is responsible for overseeing the County’s payroll, internal audits, retirement, accounts payable, and the accounting system for the County.
The Office of the Controller is headed by an independently elected Controller who is responsible to the electorate of Delaware County for the performance of their duties. The Controller shall appoint at least one Deputy Controller trained or experienced in the field of accounting and such other staff, including a solicitor, as may be required to assist them in the discharge of their duties, subject to budgetary approval of County Council. The Controller’s First Deputy is Jeffrey J. Powers, C.P.A., J.D., and the Solicitor for the Controller's office is Matthew Morley, Esq.
