Anthem Executive Recruits CFO for Texas Tech University System
November 22, 2022 – Executive recruitment firm Anthem Executive recently assisted in the recruitment of James Mauldin as vice chancellor and chief financial officer the Texas Tech University System (TTU System). He succeeds Gary Barnes, who announced his retirement earlier this year after a 45-year career, which included serving the TTU System as vice chancellor and CFO for more than five years. Leading the assignment were Michael Ballew, Scott Watson, Mike “JR” Wheless, and Florene Stawowy.
“James is an established leader who brings a dynamic skill-set in finance, investments, treasury, and debt management with a successful background in higher education, international transportation, and municipalities,” said Tedd L. Mitchell, chancellor. “His diverse experience, servant-leadership mentality, and collaborative nature have led to an expertise that is unique and will be greatly beneficial to the Texas Tech University System. We are fortunate to have James join our system family and look forward to his many contributions ahead.”
A proven finance and strategic organizational leader of more than 25 years, Mr. Mauldin joins the Texas Tech University System Administration after serving as vice president of treasury management for the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. In this role, he was responsible for the defined benefit and defined contribution pension, debt portfolio, grants, banking, and investments operations. His team led eight bond issues totaling more than $5 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented a commercial paper program for the airport, which ranked as the No. 2 busiest airport in the world in 2021 with more than 62 million passengers.
Before that, Mr. Mauldin served as associate vice chancellor for treasury and later in the interim CFO position during his four-year tenure at the University of North Texas System. His notable contributions include centralizing key functions for the university system, generating incremental investment returns and implementing a strategic capital planning model. From 2008 to 2015, Mr. Mauldin served a pair of municipalities as director of finance/CFO at the City of Cedar Hill – a suburb in Dallas County – and as treasurer and assistant director of finance for the City of Fort Worth, which is the county seat in Tarrant County.
In his new role with TTU System, Mr. Mauldin will coordinate its $2.65 billion operating budget and will be responsible for the overall financial strength and stability of the system. He also will oversee multiple offices, services and administrative functions, including investments, treasury, accounting and reporting, risk management, equal opportunity, and information technology.
“It is a sincere honor to join chancellor Mitchell’s executive leadership team at the Texas Tech University System,” said Mr. Mauldin. “I’m excited about and appreciate the opportunity to join a talented work family with a values-based culture, as well as to partner collaboratively with the highly respected CFO leaders across the component institutions of the system and many professionals at the TTU System Administration.”
Established in 1996 and headquartered in Lubbock, the TTU System has emerged as one of the top public university systems in the nation, operating at 24 academic sites across the state and globe through its five universities. With the recent additions of a veterinary medicine school in Amarillo and a dental medicine school in El Paso, the TTU System is one of nine higher-education systems in the U.S. to offer programs for undergraduate, medical, law, veterinary, nursing, pharmacy, and dental education, among other academic areas.
Seasoned Recruiters
Anthem Executive, headquartered in Houston, TX, serves clients across a range of business sectors, including higher education, health sciences, corporate and non-profit institutions, global software and technology, private equity, insurance, service and manufacturing, oil and gas, and others. Its consultants bring a combined 80 years’ experience in the search industry. The firm’s higher education practice spans the entire leadership spectrum. In other sectors, Anthem Executive covers all roles from CEO and other C-suite leaders, board directors, vice president, and director, among others.
Anthem Executive Recruits CFO for Wayne State University
Anthem Executive has placed David Massaron, budget director for the State of Michigan, as chief business officer and CFO/senior vice president for finance and business operations and treasurer for Wayne State University in Detroit. Mr. Massaron will assume his new role upon the completion of the fiscal year 2022 budget for the state. Leading the assignment were Michael Ballew, Scott Watson, and Mike “JR” Wheless, co-founders, principals and consultants, along with Leyla Kayi, research and search operations, higher education. Mr. Massaron succeeds Rebecca Cooke, who came out of retirement to serve in the position on an interim basis. Ms. Cooke previously served as associate vice president for finance and administration, health affairs, as well as vice dean, finance, for the School of Medicine. She replaced William Decatur, who retired at the end of 2019.
Mr. Ballew, a registered Native American and member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe, serves as the firm’s chief diversity, inclusion, equity, and compliance officer, as well as search committee facilitator. He joined the executive search industry 14 years ago following a 20-plus year career in senior-level management with expertise in recruiting, counseling, training, operations, strategic planning, facilitation, project management, and workplace diversity.
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Mr. Watson has been in the executive search industry for over 30 years. In addition to higher education institutions, he has served hospital/health systems, global software and technology companies, private equity enterprises, MCOs, insurance companies, service and manufacturing organizations with global footprints, and others.
Mr. Wheless, a veteran of more than two decades in the search industry, has served a broad portfolio of clients across many industry lines on behalf of organizations ranging from small operations to Fortune $100 billion plus enterprises – including working with and recruiting some of the nation’s most influential leadership. Mr. Wheless has served institutions and organizations across a broad range of geographies and sectors in higher education, technology, healthcare, energy, financial services, law, insurance, hospitality and food services, retail, CPG, EPC, manufacturing, aerospace, mining, construction, and real estate.
Ms. Stawowy, who has been in executive search for over 20 years, is a core member of the higher education and academic health practice. Over the last two decades, she has developed deep expertise in senior‐level search, having been charged with numerous executive leadership transitions with a particular emphasis on higher education and academic health search.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
