Matteo named vice president for finance and treasurer at Princeton

Jim Matteo, associate vice president and treasurer at the University of Virginia and an accomplished financial management executive with expertise in strategy and operations, has been named vice president for finance and treasurer at Princeton.

Matteo will join the University as it advances its ambitious plans for substantial growth and physical expansion over the next decade. He will begin in his new role on Feb. 25.

“Jim Matteo is an outstanding financial professional and proven administrator who understands and shares the academic values that shape Princeton’s mission,” said President Christopher L. Eisgruber. “He impressed all of us on the search committee with his strategic perspective, his achievements at the University of Virginia and his collegiality. He will be a terrific leader for our Office of Finance and Treasury, and I look forward to working with him in the years ahead.”

At the University of Virginia, Matteo was responsible for debt, liquidity, and cash and short-term investment management. He supervised the university’s risk management and enterprise risk management functions, and he also administered its relationships with its 26 affiliated foundations.

As Princeton’s new chief financial officer, Matteo will oversee the Office of Finance and Treasury, which is charged with stewarding the University’s financial resources while providing guidance and support for other administrative and academic departments’ financial management activity.

The position reports to the president and collaborates closely with the Office of the Provost and other senior leadership to advance the University’s strategic priorities. In addition to serving as a member of the president’s cabinet, Matteo will join the Council of the Princeton University Community’s Resources and Priorities committees, the Facilities Planning Group and the Fundraising Priorities Committee. 

He also will serve as secretary to the University Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee and as an ex officio member of the Princeton University Investment Co. board. 

Matteo said he looks forward to joining Princeton’s leadership team and contributing to the University’s mission of serving the nation and humanity through scholarship, research and teaching.

“I am both honored and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a history of financial stewardship and service in support of Princeton’s extraordinary academic record and legacy,” Matteo said.

Prior to joining the University of Virginia in 2005, Matteo spent 14 years in the private sector with PPL Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, first as an internal auditor and then managing various finance functions including corporate finance, cash management, and interest rate and foreign currency risk management. 

Matteo is board chair of the Treasury Institute for Higher Education. The recipient of a National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Rising Stars Award, he serves on the organization’s Research Universities Council and is a former member of the advisory board for the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments.

Matteo has served on the foundation boards of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and Human Development and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  

A certified treasury professional and certified management accountant, Matteo was a member of the Association for Financial Professionals’ task forces responsible for developing questions and determining passing scores for the certified treasury professional exam.  

He received a B.S. in finance from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. from Moravian College.