Ritu Kalra, a highly experienced professional in financial management and investment banking, has been appointed as the vice president for finance and chief financial officer at the University. Currently serving as Harvard’s assistant vice president of finance and treasury and special projects adviser, Kalra will now be responsible for overseeing various financial aspects, including long-term planning, budgeting, endowment fund spending policy, treasury, financial accounting and reporting. Her role will also involve research administration, strategic procurement, capital planning, and risk management. Kalra will be leading a team of over 200 employees across multiple financial departments. She will succeed Thomas J. Hollister, who has held the position since 2015, and will report to Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick, with a dotted line reporting to President Claudine Gay.
Weenick expressed her excitement about Kalra assuming the role, commending her exceptional leadership and expertise in financial matters and university priorities. Weenick believes that Kalra’s experience at Harvard, along with her successful track record in private sector banking and finance, positions her well to continue the strong financial management that the university has witnessed in recent years.
In her current role as assistant vice president of finance and treasury, Kalra oversees the university’s capital structure, forecasting debt and liquidity needs, as well as managing cash operations and investments. Additionally, she has played a crucial role as a special projects adviser, leading the university’s engagement on the I-90 multimodal project in Allston. Kalra has been instrumental in fostering the partnership between Harvard, the city of Boston, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. She also serves on the Presidential Committee for Sustainability.
Kalra previously spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, where she held various positions and eventually became a managing director. Her responsibilities included heading the public sector and infrastructure finance division for the western region and leading higher education finance nationally. During her time in infrastructure financing, Kalra provided strategic advisory services to public and private sector entities across the U.S., focusing on innovative financing strategies to address climate-related risks. She worked on significant projects such as capitalizing a $21 billion fund to mitigate wildfire impacts in California and restructuring the Long Island Power Authority post-Hurricane Sandy. Kalra also developed debt financing strategies to leverage philanthropic capital for land and forest conservation nationwide.
In her role in higher education finance, Kalra supported Harvard and other universities by executing financing plans to align with their strategic goals. She facilitated public-private partnerships for student housing, royalty monetization, and decarbonizing energy infrastructure, among other initiatives. Her expertise in analyzing debt capacity, operating budget impacts, and capital market opportunities provided valuable guidance to universities throughout the country.
