Stephanie Pianka

Independent member of the Board of PayPal Giving fund and their audit committee. The fund grants ~$1Bn annually.

Trustee for the Community Foundation serving the North Country. Member, Audit and Finance Committees.

My tenure as CFO at NYU was a journey of growth, resilience, and impact. Together, we turned challenges into opportunities and strengthened the financial foundation of an institution. At the time of my retirement, I was humbled by the outpouring of support and gratitude I received. Two that best reflect my career and contributions are: “during my years of service on the Board…. your proven track record of dedication, competence, and (sic) strategy places you in a class by yourself. You will be missed….” "not just for impeccable business acumen and analysis, but also for confidently and consistently differentiating right and wrong, ethical and unethical, and preserving and growing the institution's reputation and standing.”

I knew my CFO position was my dream job when I realized that I could affect the development of talented people and make decisions to assist people with their education, organizational efficiencies, and retirement choices. NYU and I share a service mindset, and thus, the opportunity to make a difference was presented daily. My team and I successfully managed NYU’s finances and budget during the pandemic and avoided layoffs, salary sacrifices, or benefit reductions. In collaboration with many departments, disciplines, units, personalities, and levels, we pulled through while growing NYU’s net assets and cash reserves and reducing its pension liabilities and long-term debt by 10%. So, even adversity made us stronger and better. Nothing happens without people optimizing their strengths and improving their development opportunities. I oversaw the recruiting and retention of a top-flight global team of over 600 across the Budget, Finance, and Campus Service operations. I am proud to report that their accomplishments are too numerous to name, but nonetheless, they provided our institution with the financial stability to expand in Manhattan, Brooklyn, LA, London, Florence, and Abu Dhabi, significantly growing our research expenditures while increasing our cash reserves. Leading the Finance function included overseeing a large financial operation with over one million annual financial transactions and $13 billion in assets. We funded the university's growth at the lowest cost of borrowing and were pleased to earn a credit upgrade from Moody’s during my tenure. In my role, I also became the staff liaison to the Board of Trustees’ Finance and Audit Committees. The wide-ranging impact of this position included oversight of fiscal controls, the consolidated financial statements, and the revamping of the institution’s fund lineup for their $12 billion 403(b) retirement plans, and responsibility for all non-endowment investments.

As the executive charged with managing the institution’s liquidity, balance sheet and financial operations, I started each week knowing the magnitude of our responsibility and that having the best professionals was vital to our success. I led such a team in the Financial Operations and Treasury (FO&T) at NY. Our team consisted of over 300 finance professionals who were responsible for effectively managing the collection, disbursement, and investment of the University’s $4B in annual revenue and expenses. My areas of responsibility included Enterprise Risk Management, Procurement to Payables, Employee Systems & Services, Financial Accounting & Reporting, Payroll, Sponsored Research Administration, Global Tax Compliance, and Treasury operations, which encompassed debt management, global banking, and cash management. During my tenure as VP and Treasurer, we implemented a business quality and process management system to continuously monitor and improve our services, a new cloud-based procurement to pay process and system, and a state-of-the-art cash management application to maximize the University’s working capital returns. FO&T provided essential financial services and support to NYU’s faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, investors, bondholders, donors, and suppliers. Our commitment was to attract and retain skilled financial professionals, continuously improve our services, and ensure compliance and risk management.

I have brought my business expertise and independence from the company to my board position. This, coupled with my financial management and audit expertise, has enabled me to monitor the company’s financial reporting, capital structure and internal controls effectively. Each board member brings their strengths, and I am proud to contribute mine in this capacity. (And, of course, I bring my fashion sense.) As board members, we are pivotal in setting the CEO's and the leadership team’s compensation, bonus plan, and performance targets, which we undertake annually. This underscores the board's significant influence and decision-making in the company's leadership structure. The audit committee is also responsible for hiring and supervising the company’s external auditors. Phoenix Footwear specializes in quality, comfort women’s footwear. I’ve served on Pheonix’s Board of Directors and audit committee for over thirteen years. Serving in this capacity clarifies the crucial nature of the audit committee's functions and importance. We have oversight responsibilities with respect to financial and operational practices, risk management, and key controls.