The Leadership Opportunity:
Columbia University seeks an accomplished, collaborative, and enterprise-minded executive to serve as its next Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative and Operations Officer (CAOO). Reporting directly to President Mnookin, the CAOO will be a key advisor and member of the senior leadership team, responsible for ensuring the University’s resources, infrastructure, and operations are aligned to advance its mission and strategic priorities.
Working in close partnership with the President, the CAOO will help translate institutional vision into coordinated action across one of the world’s largest and most complex research universities. Serving as a critical advisor to the President, Provost, Chief Financial Officer, senior leadership team, and Board of Trustees, the CAOO will bring an institution-wide perspective and systems-oriented thinking to the opportunities and challenges shaping both Columbia and the broader higher education landscape. This appointment comes at a critical juncture as Columbia seeks to strengthen research excellence, enhance student experience, support continued growth, and improve organizational effectiveness to achieve long-term success in an increasingly dynamic environment.
The CAOO will provide leadership and strategic oversight to ensure the effective stewardship of Columbia’s physical, technological, and human resources, including significant capital investments and long-range planning initiatives to support the University’s ambitious plans. Through a collaborative, service-oriented approach, the CAOO will foster organizational excellence, modernize systems and processes, lead transformational initiatives, and build a high-performing team across a diverse portfolio that includes Facilities and Operations as the backbone of Columbia’s current and forward looking campus stewardship; Human Resources focusing on talent acquisition, compensation and organizational learning and development; Public Safety and Emergency Response; and Technology to enable organizational effectiveness through systems and a thoughtful approach to Artificial Intelligence. Depending on the successful candidate’s background and experience, the role may also encompass innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology ventures.
The CAOO will be a strategic systems thinker and hands-on leader who combines operational expertise with financial fluency, evaluating decisions through analytical and economic lenses to ensure the effective deployment of resources. They will maintain an enterprise-wide view of the institution, understand how decisions in one area affect others, and align people, processes, infrastructure, and resources to support and activate Columbia’s strategies. The CAOO will convert strategy into execution for effective, forward-looking administrative excellence, foster collaboration across organizational boundaries, and ensure the administrative and operational functions enable Columbia’s academic, research, and student-focused ambitions.
Equally important, the CAOO will anticipate emerging challenges, look for new opportunities and areas for improvement, and build the capabilities needed to position Columbia for continued excellence and impact under President Mnookin’s leadership. Success in the role will require deep engagement with a broad range of stakeholders and the ability to build trust, credibility, and alignment across the institution.
The successful candidate will be an accomplished, results-driven executive with experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder organizations with large union teams. They will possess strong financial and operational instincts, with an appreciation for the capital, resource, and investment decisions that shape leading research universities. An exceptional organizational leader, the CAOO will have a proven record of strengthening teams, improving systems, effective execution, and fostering accountability and continuous improvement. They will pair analytical rigor with technological fluency and innovation, bringing depth of experience leading organizations through periods of growth, transformation, uncertainty, and change.
About Columbia University:
Columbia University is at a defining moment. Under the leadership of President Jennifer L. Mnookin, the University is uniquely positioned to build on its extraordinary strengths as one of the world’s foremost centers of scholarship and research while charting an ambitious and confident path forward. Columbia’s combination of academic distinction, global reach, a world-class medical enterprise, and a deep connection to New York City gives it an unparalleled capacity to advance knowledge and improve lives.
President Mnookin’s tenure marks an inflection point for the institution—one that calls for aligning Columbia’s exceptional talent, resources, and capabilities around a shared vision for the future. As Columbia advances its academic, research, and clinical missions while elevating the student experience, the President’s senior leadership team will play a central role in shaping the University’s next era of impact.
The Search Process:
Columbia University is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for the role and anticipates that the Chief Administrative and Operations Officer’s annual salary range will likely fall between $750,000 to $850,000.
Columbia University has retained Spencer Stuart to support the search. If you wish to submit your own application materials or nominate someone to serve as the next Chief Administrative and Operations Officer for Columbia University, please send an email message with supporting materials to ColumbiaCAOO@spencerstuart.com.