Chief Financial Officer Announcement

September 24, 2018 | 3 p.m.

Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that Amy Blaz has been appointed as our Chief Financial Officer effective September 19, 2018. This time of overlap with retiring Chief Financial Officer Pat Brooke will allow for a smooth transition. In her new role, Amy will report directly to me and will serve on Cabinet.

In her 15 years of experience, including the two years at Bethel as university controller, Amy has worked in a variety of industries as a controller and accountant. Amy is a Certified Management Accountant with a Master of Business Administration. Her experience coupled with her education has enabled her to develop a solid understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), a keen ability to identify and solve problems including streamlining processes, and the capability to discern relevant data for better decision making.

As I’ve watched Amy’s work over the past two years, a number of things stand out. She is incredibly hard working, thoughtful, and passionately supportive of Bethel’s mission. She has significantly improved processes, procedures, and productivity in her area. Our audit firm sings her praises. She has the ability to spot a problem, design and implement effective improvements, and to see the strategic advantages of new approaches to effective management. Amy is a learner who makes her area of leadership and her team better.

In her leadership role at Bethel, Amy has greatly improved reporting and visibility into Bethel’s financials. This past spring she led the effort with Cabinet to create a framework for internal financial reporting to the community. This operating budget historical summary overviews revenue and expenses, grouped by key areas, over the past six years.

Amy’s prior work as both an accountant and a controller has helped her learn how to stay knowledgeable at the thousand-foot level while keeping her eye on the big picture at the 40,000-foot level. Amy summed it up best when she shared, “A common challenge institutions face is a disconnect between those setting the course and those executing the turns within the course. I will always work to lessen and remove that disconnect.”

I am grateful for Amy’s acceptance of this role and look forward to adding her talents to our Cabinet team. Please join me in congratulating Amy on her new role.

Serving together,

Jay Barnes