Deborah Moon takes a deep breath and exhales, a subtle smile crossing her face as she deals with the whirlwind that is her 17-year-old teenage daughter.
It's early evening at a local mall and Carnegie Mellon's CFO since 2004 is doing what she does best to get away from the daily gauntlet of conference calls, meetings, and intensive investment analysis—she's spending money.
"Shopping's a stress reliever for me," Moon says with a laugh. "Although sometimes my daughter isn't necessarily good for my wallet."
Aside from her own liquidation sprees, Moon has effectively supervised the collective wallet of the university, whose research grants and endowments among its seven schools and colleges total nearly $300 million annually.
Moon and her staff's ability to understand the trends of the financial marketplace were put to significant test in a tumultuous 2008. But through her fiscal decisions, Carnegie Mellon's investments and cash liquidity have fared significantly better than those of many other universities.
University President Jared Cohon called attention to Moon's performance during his annual staff council address: "We've got a great finance division led by Deb Moon. ... They, many months before the real [financial and economic crisis started]
showed, I think, great judgment and great prudence in getting us out of funds that had exposure to companies like Shearson Lehman Brothers and restructured our bond portfolio so that we were well positioned when the real trouble occurred."
For her efforts, the Pittsburgh Business Times recently recognized Moon as its 2008 CFO of the Year, in the large nonprofit company category.
—Chris A. Weber
