Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Brett Padgett serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the University. In this role, Padgett oversees the financial well-being of Syracuse University, working closely with Chancellor Syverud to proactively position the University to navigate a dynamic financial landscape, optimize resources and investments, and align the budget model in support of the University’s core mission of academic excellence. He is responsible for leadership of the finance and administration functions, including campus facilities, comptroller’s office, institutional risk and audit, budget and planning, treasury, and real estate.
Prior to joining the University, Padgett served as Associate Vice President for Finance at the University of Chicago. In this position, Padgett was responsible for accounting and financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, payroll and human resource services, procurement and payment services, and treasury. While at the University of Chicago, he also served as Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from July 2021 to April 2022. During this interim role, Padgett managed approximately 500 staff across seven departments, including financial services, human resources, information technology, internal audit and enterprise risk, real estate, risk management, and shared services.
Prior to his career in higher education, Padgett was an investment banker for more than two decades, handling complex municipal financings throughout the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. He worked with clients in higher education, transportation, water and sewer, public power, stadiums and arenas, convention centers, hotels, chemical plants, and public-private partnerships. During this time, Padgett was employed at Citigroup and JPMorgan/Banc One Capital Markets, and he previously served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant in Special Operations.
Padgett earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.