Jon Heleno, former deputy controller at Columbia University, has been appointed associate vice chancellor for finance – planning and budgets at Washington University in St. Louis, according to Amy B. Kweskin, executive vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer.
Heleno, who joined the university May 8, will work with Tim Thornton until he steps down from the role at the end of June after 27 years at the university. Thornton will take some time off and then return part time as a special assistant to Kweskin.
“Jon Heleno is a talented and strong financial leader with extensive experience in financial management from both higher education and industry,” Kweskin said. “Jon’s prior experiences will serve us well as we move forward with the university’s strategic plan, building upon our financial practices and developing new models to support bold initiatives of the plan.
“I also want to thank Tim for his remarkable leadership and support,” Kweskin added. “Tim has been a strategic partner supporting the university’s missions through developing unique and creative funding solutions for so many projects over the years, including capital projects and important financial aid initiatives, including the Gateway to Success. He has worked to ensure the university has the financial resources needed to meet our mission.”
Heleno will lead the budget, financial planning and analysis team and work with university leaders to support strong financial management of university resources. He will work with the schools’ business leaders, the provost’s office and key administrative leaders.
At Columbia University, Heleno led a financial team where he handled financial reporting to senior management, endowment accounting and reporting, management of external audit relationships and implementation of new accounting standards.
Heleno brings close to 20 years of experience in leading financial teams and developing budgets, maintaining policies, overseeing auditing and reporting for several organizations. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from St. Peter’s University and a master’s in business administration from Montclair State University, both in New Jersey.
Tim Thornton
Thornton joined the university as special assistant to the chief financial officer in 1996. During his career, he has served as director of financial planning and analysis, assistant vice chancellor for finance and director of financial planning, and, in 2018, was promoted to associate vice chancellor for finance – planning and budgets.
His work as a leader at the university has included capital planning, operating budgets, enrollment planning, endowment spending and numerous surveys and special projects.
