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Amir Rahnamay-Azar began his tenure as Syracuse University’s Senior Vice President for Business, Finance and Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer on February 15, 2017. He is responsible for overseeing Auxiliary Services, Campus Development and Facilities Operations, Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services, Financial Planning and Resource Management, Internal Audit, and Real Estate and Asset Management.

Rahnamay-Azar launched an ambitious divisional strategic plan, the Orange Standard. The plan has five primary goals: to create an unparalleled Syracuse University experience; relentlessly pursue business excellence; passionately lead, engage, and develop employees; empower progress through innovation and entrepreneurship; and promote accountability and organizational effectiveness.

A number of key projects have commenced, including the evaluation of Syracuse University’s energy assets, enhancements to the enterprise risk management program, advancing a real estate strategy, initiatives geared toward improving the campus experience, and an ongoing commitment to strategically stewarding the University’s financial resources.

Rahnamay-Azar has advanced nearly $300 million in capital projects supporting the institutional master plan. He also played a key role in the $100 million Invest Syracuse initiative, which aims to expand opportunity to students of promise from across the socioeconomic spectrum and invest in faculty and research priorities.

With nearly 25 years of experience in higher education, Rahnamay-Azar served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Carnegie Mellon University from 2013-16, and as Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at Georgia Institute of Technology from 2010-13. He spent more than a decade working at the University of Southern California, culminating in his final role as Associate Senior Vice President for Operations.

Rahnamay-Azar earned a doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA and bachelor’s degree in strategic management at California State University in Sacramento.