A Conversation with Augie Maurelli, UVAFinance’s new AVP

Augie, his wife Kristen (a VA native) and their two boys

We caught up with A. Leigh “Augie” Maurelli on his fourth day on the job in UVAFinance as AVP of Finance. Although his office was bustling with activity and visitors, he took some time to chat about his first few days at UVA. 

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Q. You were at the University of Delaware for over nine years before coming to UVA; what interested you in this position with UVAFinance?

A.  I saw this role as a tremendous opportunity to work at one of the most highly-regarded institutions in the country just at the time they’re getting ready to go through Finance Transformation and the Workday implementation. I liked the idea of contributing to a project of that magnitude. This role also gives me the opportunity to oversee areas in which I had direct knowledge and experience, but also, to expand my portfolio and take a larger leadership role.

Plus, who doesn’t want to live in Charlottesville, Virginia?

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Q. Obviously, it’s early yet, but what are your impressions of UVA so far? 

A.  Higher education has a lot of similarities from location to location, but at the same time, every culture is unique. I’m trying to immerse myself and understand UVA’s culture. I know for sure that it has been an incredibly welcoming and hospitable environment. I’m excited to see an R1 institution that has a state affiliation that still manages to be decentralized in an effort to support the mission. That’s rare – when you have state and federal regulation, there can be a stifling of the institution’s ability to seek and serve. UVA is a pleasant surprise in that way.

Q. And how about UVAFinance? What is interesting or notable about your new department?

A. Well, for one thing, it’s reassuring that I’m not the only one who’s new! I’m coming in on the latter half of a lot of realignment, which means there’s lots of opportunity for business process improvements and system improvements, as well as an opportunity for all of us to come together as a team and approach finance holistically rather than individual functional departments.

Q. What are some of your immediate priorities?

A.  I recently shared with my direct reports my 30-60-90 day / one-year plan to my team. For the next 12 months, my strategy is to tackle the pressing tasks immediately and proceed methodically on the bigger projects. In addition, I'm hoping to gain some consistency and standards regarding how UVA Finance conducts business across all of our functional areas.

Q. You have an interesting dual background in athletics and finance. Do you see the two complementing one another?

A. I was a senior administrator in athletics when I chose to move to central finance several years ago. My past experience gave me a window into how the end-user perceives and values central finance, and that perspective served me well in my new role. Athletics is a time-sensitive, demanding environment, and I try to translate that urgency across the entire enterprise, including central finance. It’s a “both sides of the coin” type of thing: I’ve gotten to “run a business” with the help of central finance, and then apply what I learned in that role as a finance leader with a greater appreciation of how board and vast a University’s operations can be.

Q. When you’re not on the job, what activities keep you busy? 

A. Recently, it’s family that keeps me busy. I have two sons, ages two and four. My wife and I are both former athletes, and we attend lots of athletic events and stay socially engaged on the campuses where we’ve been and we’re looking forward to continuing that at UVA. I’m excited to be at a school in this conference – UVA has had an amazing run lately in basketball, lacrosse, soccer and so many other sports. Our student athletes do an amazing job representing UVA.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about Charlottesville so far?

A. Well, it’s only been four days, but I get the sense that Charlottesville has everything a major market has to offer without the major market challenges. Plus, it’s absolutely beautiful – just the best of both worlds!