David Jones named Wooster’s next vice president for finance and business, treasurer

David Jones ’88, a seasoned finance manager for some of the world’s largest and complex employers, has been named the next vice president for finance and business and treasurer at The College of Wooster. Jones officially begins his role on Sept. 18 and joins the campus community starting Sept. 25.

Reporting to the president, Jones will serve as the College’s chief financial officer, overseeing an annual budget of $85 million and a division of approximately 60 staff in the areas of business, investment, procurement, facilities, and auxiliary services, as well as contracted dining and custodial services. He will be a key member of the administrative cabinet and will work closely with the Board of Trustees as well as the College’s faculty, staff, students, and the greater Wooster community to promote strategic administrative, financial, technological, and physical infrastructure services for campus.

“I look forward to the exceptional expertise David will bring to Wooster. As demonstrated by the complexity of assignments across industries over time, I am confident he has the mental flexibility to analyze, understand, and take or recommend action in situations that involve numerous processes and complex situations,” said President Anne McCall. “What’s more, David is an alumnus as well as a Wooster parent and expresses coherently the values at the heart of the educational experience he had here and a deep understanding of our collaborative community.”

“Search committee members, attendees of campus meetings, and references expressed admiration for his adaptability, thoughtfulness of analysis, honesty, productive action, and ethical servant-leadership,” added McCall.

Jones returns to Wooster with considerable experience overseeing finance operations for some of the world’s largest employers, including the development and maintenance of progressive financial and administrative systems and models.

He currently serves as chief financial officer (CFO) for Fouts Brothers LLC, a leader in the truck equipment industry related to Truck Upfitting as well as Fire Trucks & Equipment.

Immediately prior, he served as senior vice president and CFO for The Honey Baked Ham Company, a privately held retailer with over four hundred company and franchise stores and a growing e-commerce business. There, Jones oversaw all fiscal year-end closings, audited financials, the annual budget, tax, treasury, risk management, and Board of Directors planning and reporting. He led the successful restructuring of the finance department and built strategies and tactics to deliver significant improvement and increased reliability of financial reporting, processes, and controls.

Previously, he was vice president and head of global operations finance for Radial, a spinoff of eBay enterprises, where he managed finance operations for fulfillment, transportation, and call centers globally and was responsible for leading client level profitability analyses and enhancing business decision support on customer yields.

Jones also served as vice president of finance and strategy at Wal-Mart and as director of supply chain finance for Home Depot—both multi-billion-dollar enterprises. Earlier in his career, he held positions with Brown & Williamson, General Electric, and Rubbermaid, where his focus was on audit and risk, financial analysis and modeling, and decision support.

Jones graduated from The College of Wooster with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics and was the captain of the men’s soccer team. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Akron as well as a Black and Green Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma.

“I am thrilled to return to the Wooster community as part of President McCall’s leadership team, and I look forward to working in partnership with the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and alumni to further the mission of our great institution, support the thriving of our student body, and play a role in ensuring a financially vibrant future,” said Jones.

Posted in News on August 30, 2023.