Collaboration

65: Amir Rahnamay-Azar on Collaborative Leadership at Carnegie Mellon

Dr. Amir Rahnamay-Azar, Vice President & CFO, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Amir Rahnamay-Azar, Vice President & CFO, Carnegie Mellon University

Seasoned business officer Amir Rahnamay-Azar joins us on the show this week to share his leadership practices as a new member of the Carnegie Mellon University leadership team. Just celebrating his 1-year anniversary, Amir has developed a strategic plan for his division, illuminating the objectives shared by the institution and how his operation contributes to achieving them. His process for encouraging buy-in and developing a collaborative leadership relationship with the provost is a true highlight of his work, and we encourage you to listen in as Howard Teibel and Pete Wright learn how Amir is shepherding the entrepreneurial into his administrative office. 

About Dr. Amir Rahnamay-Azar
Amir Rahnamay-Azar is the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to serving as CFO, Dr. Rahnamay-Azar was Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  In his role at Georgia Tech, Dr. Rahnamay-Azar managed a wide range of functions, such as the institute’s overall budget, capital planning and space management, institutional research and planning, organizational development, sustainability, real estate development, and financial services. From 1999 to 2010, Amir was at USC and rose through the ranks from Staff Associate and Associate Director of Operations in the Office of Budget and Planning, to Associate Senior Vice President for Operations in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Administration. Amir earned his Ed.D. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MBA and bachelor’s degree in business administration from the California State University, Sacramento. 

60: Conflict and Collaboration

Howard TeibelPresidentTeibel Education Consulting

Howard Teibel
President
Teibel Education Consulting

The road to collaboration is paved with complexity. We forget that sitting on teams, driving toward improved processes and structures, fantastic new programs and initiatives, are real people with real emotional ties to the work being done. This can lead to unconscious conflict that impedes growth and progress. This week on Navigating Change, Howard Teibel and Pete Wright discuss the opportunities and pitfalls inherent in building strong teams and offer suggestions for cultivating a progressive and productive team environment.

43: Gearing up for EACUBO 2014 — Reaching Across the Aisle

We’re preparing for the EACUBO 2014 Annual Workshop in just a few weeks, and to help us out, we’re joined by guest Roger Stackpoole, Vice President of Finance & Administration at Le Moyne College. Roger and Howard Teibel will be presenting “Reaching Across the Aisle — CFO and CAO Strategic Partnership,” in which they offer insights and observations on cultivating a spirit of collaboration and cooperation between academic and business leadership. 

This week on the show, Howard and Roger set the stage for their presentation with a discussion on building trust through transparency, shifting responsibility in building a healthy and financially sustainable organization, and cultivating a shared commitment to delivering the mission of the institution. 

We invite you to listen to the show this week, and to begin to craft your questions and comments as Roger and Howard lead what promises to be an exciting, challenging, and participatory presentation in Philadelphia.

About our Guest

Roger Stackpoole

Roger Stackpoole is Vice President of Finance & Administration and Treasurer at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. He is a driving force behind sustainability initiatives and strategic planning at Le Moyne College, and is past president of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers. Learn more about Roger at LeMoyne.edu

13: The 15-Minute Meeting

We’ve all been there -- the eternal ineffective meeting. The facilitator labors on and on, agenda lost long, long ago, with no end in sight. But it is possible to hold effective meetings; meetings with focus, attention, participation, and accountability -- and it all starts with a collective understanding of the rules of the field. In this episode, Howard Teibel and Pete Wright outline those rules and provide suggestions for all who are plagued with ineffective meeting-itis on how to spark the right team behaviors and get back on track.