Duke’s top finance man is trading Devils for Demons.
Hof Milam, vice president for finance and treasurer, will step down in December to become senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer at Wake Forest University.
“Wake Forest offered the very best match for me,” he said. “I felt like I was ready to operate at a little higher level within an organization.”
Milam will have broader responsibilities at Wake Forest than he currently has at Duke. In addition to dealing with Wake Forest’s finances, Milam will oversee human resources, dining and facilities and will report directly to Wake Forest’s president.
“Hof Milam brings to Wake Forest exceptional skills and experience, as well as a deep understanding of and appreciation for higher education and for this university,” Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch said in a news release. “He has demonstrated great success in working through complex financial and operational issues and will bring terrific leadership to our entire finance and administrative services divisions.”
Milam said the opportunity to take on greater responsibilities and report directly to the president was the reason he decided to leave Duke.
“It came down to just wanting to grow in my own career by having the opportunity to apply a little bit of my own judgement... and to be able to advise the leader of the organization,” he said.
Milam earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA at Wake Forest and previously worked as an assistant dean at Wake Forest’s School of Medicine. But he said working at his alma mater was not a major factor in his decision to leave Duke.
Milam said Duke administrators were aware of his desire for a bigger role. But a position like the one Milam will take on at Wake Forest—similar to Tallman Trask’s executive vice president post at Duke—was unlikely to become available at the University any time soon.
“My interest in such a position was well known by Tallman, but I expect Tallman to be around Duke for a good while yet,” he said.
When Milam departs, Tim Walsh, assistant vice president and controller, will take over as interim vice president for finance. Walsh is currently responsible for Duke’s external financial reporting, payroll and accounting records.
“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Walsh said. “It’s an honor to serve Duke in any capacity, but the broader your impact, the greater the honor is.”
Walsh said Milam has left him and the rest of the Financial Services staff well prepared for Milam’s departure.
“He’s built tremendous relationships across all of Duke and has a great deal of respect across all of Duke,” Walsh said. “He leaves Duke with a great deal of confidence because of the great team he’s leaving behind.”
In his seven years at Duke, Milam worked to keep the University community informed about Duke’s financial situation and improved the handling of research funds. He also guided Duke’s transition to an electronic payroll system and dealt with the effects of the recession.
“He’s done many good things to make our financial affairs more solid,” Trask wrote in an e-mail. “He’s been especially good in research compliance and in helping us work through recent endowment issues.”
Trask said a search for a new vice president for finance will begin around the end of the calendar year. Duke will consider both internal and external candidates, and Walsh said he is interested in taking on Milam’s role permanently.
Walsh already has the backing of his former boss.
“Personally, I’ll be very disappointed if he’s not my successor,” Milam said. “He certainly has my full support and confidence.”
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