Staff

Brian Masterson

Chief of Staff | Office of the Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer | Specialties: Zero Waste, Sustainable Purchasing, Energy

Outdoors enthusiast who incorporates conservation into financial affairs

About

I joined the Financial Affairs team in November 2019, serving as the chief of staff/manager of administration for Boston University’s Senior VP, CFO, and Treasurer. I love it here.

I influence departmental administrative planning, analysis, policy development/promulgation, and continuous improvements in the areas of budgets, human resources, facilities, and information technology resources.

In November 2019, I retired from the US Navy after serving 23 years as an instructor pilot, Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force maintenance manager, Combat Direction Center officer on board the nuclear aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and most recently, as executive officer of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at Boston University.

I graduated with a BS in Economics from the US Naval Academy and earned an MBA from the University of West Florida.

My family and I live in the Merrimack Valley, where I enjoy hiking and anything outdoors and I volunteer to fly with Angel Flight Northeast.

BU Highlights

When Financial Affairs embarked on an office space reallocation and construction project involving seven departments, there were a number of benefits:

  • Repurposed 65% of available office furniture and achieved a project cost avoidance of $105,000.
  • Identified a furniture liquidator to remove and repurpose 25 workstations and provide a $175,000 credit to be used by BU during future refurbished office system projects.
  • Provided over 25 desk chairs in support of BU efforts to stand up COVID testing facilities, at an estimated cost savings of $8,750.
  • Provided BU Academy students with surplus IT equipment (over 20 monitors, keyboards, and mice) in order to support remote schooling.
  • Identified efficiencies in administrative functions—created shared copy/print room for multidepartmental use and consolidated shredding/waste management services.

I also facilitated the creation of a “Green Team,” comprised of members from various departments across Financial Affairs, with the common purpose to achieve and expand upon our Green Office Certification. Financial Affairs Green Team initiatives include:

  • Energy: Installation of LED and motion-sensing lights in Financial Affairs office spaces.
  • Purchasing: Transition to 100% recycled-content copy paper (from the previous standard of 30% recycled content).
  • Transportation: Evaluation of commuting practices using a departmental transportation survey. Identification of staff carpooling opportunities and education of team on efficient commuting options.
  • Zero Waste: Implementation of a 60% reduction in the overall usage of printed materials for signature requests, tax forms, meetings, etc. Components of this initiative include department-wide use of laptops during meetings, shared printing/scanning resources, and the prioritization of electronic signatures over printed signatures on formal documents (75% increased use of e-forms).

Related Projects

Sustainable Purchasing, Zero Waste, Transportation, Energy, Green Team, Green Office Certification

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