 | Gwendolyn Sykes |
Gwendolyn Sykes, who has served since 2003 as the chief financial officer (CFO) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will become the University's chief financial officer on July 1.
The CFO position is a new one at Yale. In that role, Sykes will be responsible for the financial stewardship of the University, including budgeting, accounting and transaction management, financial reporting, internal control and the integrity of financial information. Sykes will also focus on systems and process transformation in her areas of responsibility, and the use of technology and process redesign to increase the efficiency and quality of core activities such as accounts payable, payroll, financial budgeting and reporting.
Sykes' reporting team will include Associate Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer John Mayes and Assistant Vice President and Controller Cary B. Scapillato, as well as the Internal Audit and the Budget and Planning offices. Sykes will also work closely with members of the senior team in Finance and Administration, led by Vice President for Finance and Administration Shauna King, as well as with the administrative leadership of the University.
"Gwen is eager to be a part of our Finance and Administration transformation efforts and to apply her experience and skills to help create a world-class organization with a culture of excellence commensurate with Yale's academic enterprises," said King. "I am pleased to welcome her to Yale and I am looking forward to having her meet and begin working with her Finance and Administration colleagues and the wider Yale community."
Sykes is considered an expert in the areas of federal government accounting and financial management. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to her post as CFO at NASA and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At NASA, she oversaw the financial management and health of the $16 billion agency. She led over 500 finance professionals located across the United States in the development and execution of financial policies, processes and procedures. She also provided financial impact analysis for NASA's strategic and operational decision making, and implemented a centralized accounting system at the agency.
Before joining NASA, Sykes served for a decade as an analyst for the Department of Defense. She also worked in Congress for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska. She earned her B.A. in accounting from Catholic University and her M.P.A. from American University.
In 2006, Sykes was named as one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Women in Business by Black Enterprise, and she was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the top women leaders in her field. She was the recipient of the David P. Richardson Jr. Nation Builder Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators in 2005. The previous year, she was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for her leadership of the Columbia Families First Team and in the creation of the NASA Family Assistance Fund. She won a 2003 NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for outstanding budgetary and financial leadership.
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Campus Notes
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