The Poole College of Management welcomes Savita Sharma as the new Assistant Dean for Finance and Business Operations, effective Feb. 1.

“I am truly excited to join the Poole College team and look forward to building on its strong foundation to support its exceptional faculty, staff and students,” says Sharma.  

The Assistant Dean for Finance and Business Operations is in charge of making and executing Poole’s financial and operational strategy. The role is responsible for budgeting, financial forecasting, risk management and compliance. She’ll also be the primary liaison to university offices and external partners.

“We are delighted to welcome Savita to the Poole College of Management,” says Dean Frank Buckless. “Her proven expertise in operational leadership, financial oversight and strategic implementation — combined with her ability to build collaborative, high-performing teams — uniquely position Savita to have immediate impact as a member of our leadership team and to help advance the college’s strategic goals.”

Sharma comes to Poole from the NC State Graduate School, where she has served as the Assistant Dean for Finance, Operations and IT since 2020. She oversaw budget, finance, HR and IT functions for the program, balancing current needs with long-term fiscal goals. She was specifically in charge of budgeting, financial reporting, procurement and contract operations, and also led the Graduate Student Support Plan administration and finances.

Before joining NC State, Sharma spent over 12 years at Virginia Tech. She served nearly nine of those years as Chief of Staff to the Vice President for Finance and CFO. Prior to her work in higher education, she served as an accountant and auditor at various firms, including Deloitte.

Sharma earned both her BBA and Master’s in accounting from Texas A&M University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor.