Time of assuming the current Leadership role
On 1 September 2021, Mr Gary Butler assumed his role as Chief Financial and Performance Officer.
Previous experience and education
Gary has 35 years of experience in accountancy and finance related roles in Local Government and Higher Education and joined UL from the University of Wolverhampton, where he was responsible for the financial strategy and performance of the University.
During his time at Wolverhampton, Gary was a member of many project groups that implemented capital project developments totalling over 拢250M. He was also the key link with both internal and external auditors as well as a Chair for several committees and groups (e.g. Risk Management, Fees and Bursaries, External Returns Group, Capital Projects group). Gary also chaired the Midlands Group of the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG) and was also a member of the BUFDG national executive group.
Gary is a strong believer of continuous improvement and working collaboratively as a team to deliver successful outcomes. With a degree in Economics and Politics, Gary was admitted as a member to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy c. 25 years ago and has subsequently been awarded Fellowship status.
Areas of responsibility
The Chief Financial and Performance Officer leads a team that is responsible for the financial performance; resource, investment and asset management; performance reporting, benchmarking, and interpretation including cost-benefit analyses; integrated planning, horizon scanning and future casting as well as business risk mitigation, and strategic project design and inception.
The role carries overall responsibility for the performance of the University:
- in terms of finance, assets, planning, resilience and future sustainability and
- is responsible for driving the financial performance and reporting, data based benchmarking and decision making,
- ensuring quality management, integrated planning and the sustainability of the organisation.