Colleagues,

It’s my pleasure to announce that Paul Benedict has accepted the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for our division. His first day will be Nov. 16.

Paul has a long-standing connection to UW–Madison and may be a familiar face. He’s served in various financial roles across the university, including Accounting Services Manager in DoIT from 2015 to 2020. He currently serves as CFO for the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL).

I am thrilled to welcome Paul Benedict as our new Chief Financial Officer. He brings an exceptional combination of executive finance experience, deep institutional knowledge of the UW–⁠Madison ecosystem, and a proven track record of data-driven decision-making — exactly what this role demands. I am confident he will be an outstanding partner as we continue to advance our division’s mission.

With over 10 years of experience leading financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and resource allocation in higher education, Paul has an extensive background in financial leadership and analysis. He champions building trust across an organization and is committed to coaching and mentoring staff and creating professional development opportunities.

Paul shared his enthusiasm about stepping into this new role: “I’m honored and excited to return to DoIT and contribute to an organization that is essential to UW–Madison’s success. I look forward to partnering with colleagues in DoIT and across campus to support innovation, collaboration and sustainable solutions that move the university forward together.”

Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time with family, traveling, music and following Wisconsin sports teams. Please join me in welcoming Paul as our new CFO. You can reach him at paul.benedict@wisc.edu. 

I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to the search committee for their time and dedication throughout the process: Dave Pagenkopf (Deputy CIO, DoIT and Search Committee Chair), Lea Erickson (Controller, Division of Business Services), Fresnel Houecande (Accountant, DoIT Financial Services), Colleen Reilly (Procurement Manager, DoIT Financial Services), Angie Seitler (Associate Dean for Strategy, Operations and Finance, CALS), Joe Tarter (AIS Director, DoIT), and Anand Vangipuram (EBS Director, DoIT). I’d also like to thank Charissa Weber (HR Business Partner, DoIT HR) and Becky Morgan (CIO Office Executive Assistant, DoIT) for their support throughout the search and hiring process.

Kind regards,

Didier