Instead of hiring a new Chief Financial Officer to fill the vacant position, the University restructured Executive Vice President Patrick Hogan’s office to include those responsibilities. The restructuring, announced last week, effective Monday, seeks to promote the streamlining goals laid out by University President Teresa Sullivan.
Hogan, who became the University’s Chief Operating Officer last semester, said current administrators are qualified to handle the duties formerly assigned to the CFO.
“I made a decision about a month ago not to continue the search for a CFO,” Hogan said. “As I was searching for a CFO, [and] as I began to better understand the capabilities of my own team, I decided to suspend the search and to make some changes internally in my organization.”
In the past the University has had both a COO and a CFO, which is somewhat unusual compared to peer institutions, Hogan said. Instead of hiring a CFO, Hogan reassigned tasks associated with the CFO to his team, allowing them to step up into positions of greater responsibility.
The University will save about $300,000 annually by not hiring a CFO, Hogan said. University Spokesperson McGregor McCance said Hogan’s plan aligns with Sullivan’s overall strategic planning goals to streamline administrative efforts and reduce costs.
Hogan said his own financial background makes him confident that the changes made are not decreasing the University’s ability to address financial matters.
“I have been so impressed by the quality of the people here, the dedication and hard work of the team,” Hogan said. “I felt internally we had the skill, capability and dedicated people that we could avoid having to bring somebody from the outside.”
Hogan said the lack of a CFO will allow his team to be more coherent and work together more effectively.
“I think it will streamline the process of getting important decisions made and implementing [those] decisions,” Hogan said. “By having one less layer, people work closer together. Overall, I think we’ll be a higher-performing, more effective team.”
Other changes include the creation of the position of associate vice president for finance, which will be filled by Melody Bianchetto, who previously served as the assistant vice president for budget and financial planning. Bianchetto will be assuming more responsibility, but not the full CFO-profile, Hogan said.
Jim Matteo was also named as University Treasurer, and Gary Nimax will head a new office which will address all compliance and risk management concerns. Nimax will report directly to Hogan.
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