About Laurent Heller

Laurent Heller was appointed as executive vice president for finance and administration at Johns Hopkins University in June 2021, reporting to President Ron Daniels.

In this role, Mr. Heller leads all financial and administrative affairs for the university and oversees the financial offices of the controller, investment management, planning and budget, and treasury, as well as the administrative areas of human resources, public safety, facilities and real estate, information technology, purchasing, risk management and internal audit.

Serving as the chief business and finance officer of the university, the senior vice president for finance and administration is accountable to the university’s Board of Trustees to ensure the overall fiscal and administrative health of the institution and is accountable to the following committees of the Board of Trustees: Audits and Institutional Risk Management; Committee on Finance; Committee on Intermediate Sanctions; and Committee on Investments, as well as related subcommittees.

Mr. Heller and his leadership team are committed to helping academic leadership fulfill President Daniels’ strategic vision for the university focused on strengthening inter-disciplinary collaboration in research and education, enhancing student access, deepening engagement with the city of Baltimore, and supporting economic and social innovation.

Before coming to Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Heller served since 2016 as vice chancellor for finance and administration at University of Wisconsin – Madison, overseeing the university’s finance, facilities, information technology, human resources, housing and dining, and public safety functions. At Wisconsin, Heller worked to identify opportunities for performance improvements and to secure resources for reinvestment in the university’s academic mission. He led the development of a new strategic plan for UW Finance and Administration and demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering an engaged, inclusive, and diverse campus community.

Prior to UW-Madison, Mr. Heller served as assistant vice chancellor, financial planning and analysis at the University of California, Berkeley where he was responsible for financial projections and where he developed a new budget planning system for the University’s $2.5B annual budget. He held several other positions at UC Berkeley including interim CFO, director of the Campus Budget Office, and Chief Financial Officer at the Law School.

Mr. Heller’s career in higher education began at Harvard University as a financial analyst and database administrator with the Civil Rights Project, a multidisciplinary think tank that worked to advance diversity and inclusion by bringing together social science research and policy advocacy.

Mr. Heller earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2011.