James Gorman is no stranger to managing large-scale change. He has been involved in major change initiatives, project and portfolio management, and strategic planning at the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, and has served as a business analyst at Ford Motor Company. A Six Sigma Green Belt, Gorman also has a Project Management Professional certification and an MBA from the University Of Michigan Ross School Of Business.
His background will serve him well now that he has joined UVAFinance as Senior Director for Finance Strategic Projects. In this role, Gorman will manage and coordinate UVAFinance project management processes and functions and lead process improvement teams, and will take a leadership role as the organization looks toward Finance Strategic Transformation.
Gorman says he was attracted to the role because it spoke to his passion: working with people and helping them solve problems.
“The best thing about my career has been that I get to interact with people of diverse mindsets and backgrounds, all of whom have different ways of approaching problems,” he says.
“I learn from almost every interaction I have with someone, and it’s that continued personal and professional development that drives me.”
Besides the good fit he saw in the job description, Gorman was also excited at the opportunity to work at UVA.
“It’s a highly ranked institution and frankly, a phenomenal place,” he says, adding that as he met people from UVA during the interview process, he became more engaged and attached to the idea of coming to work here.
At the time of this article, Gorman has been on the job nearly a week, and he already likes what he sees. “There are great leaders within the finance organization,” he observes.
“I learn from almost every interaction I have with someone, and it’s that continued personal and professional development that drives me.”
Besides the good fit he saw in the job description, Gorman was also excited at the opportunity to work at UVA.
“It’s a highly ranked institution and frankly, a phenomenal place,” he says, adding that as he met people from UVA during the interview process, he became more engaged and attached to the idea of coming to work here.
At the time of this article, Gorman has been on the job nearly a week, and he already likes what he sees. “There are great leaders within the finance organization,” he observes.
“They’re passionate about what they do, they care, and they’re putting thought, effort and resources into finding the root causes of the challenges they’re facing.” In addition to getting to know his colleagues in UVAFinance, Gorman has been venturing out across Grounds to meet finance stakeholders in an effort to better understand the initiatives already underway and ones set to begin, as well as what’s working well and where the challenges are.
The key thing to any successful change, he says, is getting people involved from every aspect of the process. “We want a future state that works better for everybody,” he says.
“Helping the people in organizations come together to solve problems and make things work better is what I enjoy doing,” he says.
“I look forward to being a part of that here at UVA.”
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