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The Net Assets podcast delves into the most pressing issues in independent school business and operations. Delivered by NBOA, the only national nonprofit membership association focused exclusively on fostering financial and operational excellence among independent PK-12 schools, each episode is based on a popular article in NBOA’s Net Assets magazine. Chief financial and operational officers alongside other leaders of school business share what inspires and challenges them as well as their approaches to problem solving and innovation. In each lively exchange, host Jeff Shields, NBOA president and CEO, teases out the human stories behind the printed story.
Since we've launched, I've had many calls with different types of schools across the country. Every call's been different, but there are threats, right? And I think, as we know, we are in the people business. We serve people through people, and it's the partnerships that matter the most and making sure that there's quality alignment between the head of school and CFO, the CFO and the finance committee and the board of trustees, and the CFO as a key strategic partner to the head in working with enrollment, advancement, academic leadership, athletics, and everything across the board.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the NetAssets podcast, the official podcast of MBOA business leadership for independent schools, where we explore the business side of pre K through 12 independent education. I'm your host, Jeff Shields, MBOA president and CEO. And today we're joined by Doctor. James Palmieri, Executive Vice President of MBLA and CEO of the recently launched MBLA Advisory Services. If you're not familiar with MBLA, we're the only national association focused exclusively on business and operations professionals in independent schools.
Speaker 2:We empower our members with knowledge, community, and tools to lead their schools with confidence and clarity. The Net Assets podcast is part of delivering on our mission, bringing you insights from leaders shaping independent education today and tomorrow. And now please help me welcome to the podcast, doctor James Palmieri. James, welcome to the program.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Jeff. I appreciate the invitation to be on the NetAssets podcast. I've been a consumer of the magazine since long before my tenure on the NBOA staff, so I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2:That's nice to hear. And you have been a very busy person, and we're gonna get to all of that. But let's start with something fun before we get down the business. Excuse the pun. What's the most business officer thing you've ever done while on vacation?
Speaker 2:And you're gonna get bonus points if it involves spreadsheets and the beach. Well, you do know that I live on the Jersey Shore. And so from time to time, I
Speaker 1:do bring my work with me to the sand. But what jumps to mind for me, it goes back to earlier in my career when I was in operations leadership at my first school. And being in New Jersey, it was during the time of hurricane Sandy. Oh, wow. And after settling some things, we had a planned vacation to New Orleans and went through with it because we had no power, and it was seemingly the best option at the time.
Speaker 1:And, I remember speaking with our head of school and other administrative colleagues on a daily basis to assess, are we ready to reopen? Oh, sure. The school was in the area with a lot of tree damage and pole damage, a lot of power outages. And every day, I had to record the message that would go out to the school community indicating that we would be closed the next day. And, unfortunately, it went on a lot longer than we hoped, but I remember recording that message at Cafe Du Monde Oh, at a butterfly exhibit with my young daughter at the time.
Speaker 1:The work was certainly with me. It was a challenging time, but we are on the better side of that now.
Speaker 2:So you were a business officer with a beignet while you were doing your work? Fair to say. That's fair to say. One thing I always enjoy on the podcast is to understand our guest's professional journey, and you've had a really interesting one. I'm gonna venture a guess that you didn't think you would land in the unique role that you're in right now, the dual role, if you will, that you're in now.
Speaker 2:You've had a journey that includes teaching to administration. You launched a startup school. Obviously, you've been at NBOA serving as an association senior executive, and now you're leading NBOA advisory search, is helping schools with executive search and other support to their business office. Can you walk us through that path, and what drew you to leadership in education? Because that really seems to be a common thread for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Interestingly, it's certainly a a path not followed often, but it really all stems back to my childhood. I grew up in Long Island, New York. We say on Long Island, New York. And I was among a large family of public school educators.
Speaker 1:So my aunts, uncles, cousins, or teachers, administrators, principals, superintendents, athletic directors. And I really fell into that path. Leadership for me started early because as many of our students in our schools do, I was very involved in student government, president of my class. Leadership really spoke to me. And so while I went on to undergraduate and majored in teaching elementary and special education, I always knew I was more equipped to be an administrator.
Speaker 1:I like the operational side, the behind the scenes. After undergraduate, I moved right into a administrative program for pre k through 12 administration supervision. And still, at that time, I thought I would return to Long Island, work in the public schools like my family, but I landed at a beautiful all girls school in Summit, New Jersey, coaching lacrosse and beginning to teach. And when I graduated, the head of school and a mentor of mine at the time added a role for me in operations management inside the business office. And through that, I started working, like many of our business officers do, with food service and transportation and safety and crisis management.
Speaker 1:But I've always kept that academic lens, worked on accreditations and strategic initiatives as well. I did my dissertation on startup schools, specifically girls schools, and had the pleasure of opening an all girls high school on the Jersey Shore in 2013. I'll speed it up from here. Stayed two years from before the doors opened to five years of operation. Through that, we were early adopters of one schoolhouse, and that's where I met you, Jeff, as we Yeah.
Speaker 1:Served on the board together. And, thankfully, an opportunity opened up for me to join the MBLA staff in 2018, and it's been a great run so far, highlighted by this newest endeavor of advisory services.
Speaker 2:So you're used to being drafted into service of sorts.
Speaker 1:I've been in very few jobs where there's been people before me.
Speaker 2:Interesting. That's another really interesting observation. So let's get down to brass tacks here. We're gonna talk about MBOA advisory services. You have a startup in your history here.
Speaker 2:Why did MBUA launch this start up, in your own words, at this time? And for our listeners, what exactly is MBUA advisory services? What should they expect?
Speaker 1:Sure. I'll start with the second part of that question. What exactly is it? It's formally a subsidiary of MBO created to conduct direct to school consulting services. Why is it slightly separate?
Speaker 1:Because the association exists to serve the many, and advisory services was built to serve schools on an individual basis. So it's really an extension of our mission, and we're able to fulfill it in a way that we were previously unequipped to do. And, ultimately, over the last several years, you, Jeff, myself, many of our staff colleagues would receive calls from heads of school during CFO transitions or times of interim need or additional support. And, certainly, there's some great folks out in the industry doing that type of work, but we are so well equipped with wonderful business officers all around us in the association. And we thought if we could compile a team, we'd be able to answer those calls and be more productive helpers to the heads of schools or CFOs that reach out to us during times of need.
Speaker 1:And that's ultimately what we've built very much in aligned with the strategic framework of MBOA and our goal is to be a great partner to schools in all facets of financial leadership. We are not doing this work on the back of MBOA staff besides myself. We have recruited a great team of business officers to be called upon to support the work, and that's been a real pleasure to do.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the team because you've really assembled an impressive group of advisers for this launch of this program. What qualities were you looking for? How do you go about building a team which I know operates from multiple locations and multiple backgrounds, etcetera, etcetera? So what were you looking for, and how do you build it? First of
Speaker 1:all, I was looking for a diverse team of skill sets, geography, school type, size, scope, etcetera, in terms of the types of experiences we wanted to work with. But, really, what we wanted was very experienced business officers, folks that had either worked at a number of schools or worked at a complex school for a very long period of time. This Jeff, we're fortunate to be around some of these humble leaders through their service on the NBOA board, through their service on councils and committees and other volunteer work, NBOA award winners. Right? So Heard.
Speaker 1:I knew several very quality business officers who had recently retired and were looking for hard time work supporting schools. So that is certainly a subset of the group. Another subset is folks that were doing this work individually on their own who saw benefit in partnering with MBLA and the tools and resources we have available, the network we have, and building out a team culture of folks that have been consultants previously and those that are new to consulting. But when we went to launch, it was with a team of 15 experienced business officers with a total of over three hundred years of experience in the role. So we started strong, and we've grown the team some from there.
Speaker 2:You know what I think is great? The association has long been wrestling with where do outstanding business leaders within the NBA community go when they leave the board, when they leave their schools? And one of the dividends of launching this venture is that those who are still committed and still want to contribute have a place to go. I think you've really wrangled an impressive group, but a group that has so much more to offer since they left the school or even left actively being in the association. So I think that's exciting.
Speaker 2:But tell me about the work because it's not just executive search. What are the other types of projects you're doing to help schools with their financial health and with using MBOA resources and tools?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mentioned earlier that we want to be able to help schools of all types. Right? One key area of this is our fractional CFO offering. Okay.
Speaker 1:That is when a school maybe doesn't have the resources to have a strategic financial leader or the compensation for that role and yet maybe has a very capable on-site business manager or controller or someone running the day to day financials. And we're able to provide someone on a fractional basis to be a partner to the head of school and the board and even supervisor of the on-site staff in order to conduct the business at a higher level for less expense. That's one aspect. Others are project based work as a lot of the tools and resources MBOA builds into its membership are meant to be self implemented. However, some schools don't have the time or expertise or simply wanna partner in implementing some projects such as our new long range financial model two point o.
Speaker 1:A school is able to call us, and we have folks available to support them through that process and actually take on the workload and then facilitate some strategic discussions on the back end of that. We have been called in to do business office operations assessments, and those calls have come in both from CFOs and heads. Makes sense for heads want to have an understanding of their business office and how things are operating. But some of the best calls we've had are from CFOs who have said, I had a second set of eyes. I'm gonna be leaving this school in a few years, and I wanna make sure we're set up for success beyond my tenure.
Speaker 1:We do try to support schools when they're looking for interim CFOs, so we've been developing a talent pool of folks that aren't necessarily on our team, but are out there and available to step in when needed. And one of the aspects of the work I've truly enjoyed the most is getting involved in CFO executive search like you mentioned. We have placed folks in interim and fractional capacities, and we just completed our first full blown CFO executive search for a wonderful school in the Seattle area successfully, and we're about to launch a few new searches in the coming weeks. Listeners that are out there and maybe thinking about career mobility will keep an eye on what we're putting out and stay in touch if they are ready for their next opportunity.
Speaker 2:There's so many entry points for the NBOA membership into advisory services. Right? They can identify themselves as a candidate looking for the next opportunity. That happens. Not everyone stays at the same school throughout their entire career.
Speaker 2:They can participate, like I said, in retirement as an adviser for part time opportunities. It's really an exciting engagement. And I guess what I'm thinking is, I know the enterprise only launched earlier this year in April, but you must have learned a lot about schools, their needs, their challenges, their issues. Just tell me a few highlights of what you're learning already. And I think it's worth saying that as a member of MBOA's leadership team, those learnings will come back into the association to help the association serve our members better as well.
Speaker 2:But tell me, what are you seeing out there as you've done this work over the last several months?
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's funny. Since we've launched, I've had many calls with different types of schools across the country. Every call's been different, but there are threads. Right?
Speaker 1:And I think as we know, we are in the people business. We serve people through people, and it's the partnerships that matter the most and making sure that there's quality alignment between the head of school and CFO, the CFO, and the finance committee, the board of trustees, and the CFO as a key strategic partner to the head in working with enrollment, advancement, academic leadership, athletics, and everything across the board. And sometimes questions come up regarding personalities, fits, partnerships, and from all angles. There is questions and thoughts and seeking advice regarding roles and responsibilities in the business office. Who better to help a school with that given all of our data and research in that regard?
Speaker 1:We have done plenty of analysis on business office staffing size, different roles and responsibilities, level of outsourcing, and as our report we put out every few years about demographics of the business office and who comes into this profession, why do they stay, what makes them successful. It really seems
Speaker 2:to run the gamut, James. You've just covered a whole broad areas of what people are asking for. Is working with one of the advisers always the solution that you present to schools?
Speaker 1:No. Interestingly, I think there's a a portion of our membership that doesn't realize the amount of benefits they get through their MBLA membership. So I've taken several calls from schools who I didn't recommend a consultant engagement with because I'm able to share that they may be aware of what's available to them in our biz data platform and how they could use that for benchmarking and financial health assessments through their membership and the professional development we offer. There are other examples of that for sure. And, ultimately, some schools wanna reach out, have the conversation, get some advice, whether it leads to a consulting engagement or not.
Speaker 1:We're still doing our part, right, of being a partner to schools, advancing our mission. And I would say we welcome the calls and what whatever they amount to be.
Speaker 2:That's great to hear. And I agree. It's really an extension of MBOA's mission. I know it's early, but what does the road look like ahead for MBLA advisory services? What are you most enthusiastic about?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I said this from the beginning, but MBLA has always been wonderful at when someone gets the job. Mhmm. Giving them the network, giving them the tools and resources, giving them the professional development to be successful. And you talked about the back end of the career, the folks that are joining us to in their semi retirement days.
Speaker 1:It's also exciting to be a part of the executive search practice and bringing new business officers into the fold. Folks coming in from other industries, being thoughtful about wanting this role and for specific reasons, maybe doing some preprofessional development so that when they get to an interview, they can speak more fluently. That's pretty exciting because as we know, business officers don't grow on trees. And so helping cultivate that next crop of school business leaders is exciting. Ultimately, for me, every call is exciting.
Speaker 1:When a school calls, that may be a small school limited financial resources, and we happen to have someone that I think could be helpful in a particular regard. A mid sized school and needing help integrating some of the technologies they have and large schools that are really thinking about the future and want some strategic level peer support and planning forward.
Speaker 2:I know you've shared with me, and I'm wondering what's the biggest surprise so far for you moving from the idea to building the business model. And I know internally pitching it to the board and getting their support early on. But has there been a big surprise for you? I know you've shared previously that no engagement looks like the next engagement. It's not a plus b equals c.
Speaker 2:It's always some secure this route. But what's been the biggest surprise for you so far as CEO of this new startup?
Speaker 1:I'd say out of the gates, it was I was very thankful for the immediate interest. That helped. It was a concept Yes. For so long between us, some of our colleagues, the board. And while it didn't need to necessarily be a secret, it was.
Speaker 1:We were doing our planning, our research, our preparation so that when we made the announcement, we were ready to serve. And so really appreciated those calls that came in initially, conversations that continued through the summer, many of which turned into engagement, some did not. And now we have a new batch of interest now that the school year has opened. But I love the diversity in the calls, whether it's from a head of school with their board chair or just thinking, brainstorming, or, like I said earlier, a CFO that, is humble enough to bring in some support to make their business office and business operations even better. And I'll say we have some MBOA MVPs on our bench of independent contractors, and For sure.
Speaker 1:And working with them is a real pleasure
Speaker 2:as well. It always has been. And I think it's worth reiterating, we've gotten these calls for years. We've gotten these calls about, can you help me find my next CFO? Can you help me with the long range financial model?
Speaker 2:Can you help at Dot? But we're grateful the phone started to ring after the launch. Before we wrap up, I wanna remind our listeners of MBUA's mission to develop, deliver, and promote best business practices to advance independent schools. So I think you've covered how MBUA advisory services supports that mission. I bet you'd like me to mention that our listeners can learn more about MBUA advisory services at mb0aadvisoryservices.com.
Speaker 2:James, thanks for your time today and for joining us. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Jeff.
Speaker 2:And remember, MBOA and now MBOA Advisory Services are your partners in leading the business of independent schools. We're here to help you thrive in every aspect of school business, finance, and operations. So until next time, I'm Jeff Shields, MBOA President and CEO, and thanks for listening to the NetAssets Podcast.