Wesley A. Benbow, MBA, Named Executive Dean for Administration and Finance at Geisel

Wesley A. Benbow, MBA, has been named Executive Dean for Administration and Finance for the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. His appointment is effective June 1, 2015.  Prior to accepting this position, Mr. Benbow worked as a strategic operations consultant, partnering with several research-intensive medical schools and academic medical centers, including Geisel, in the evaluation of their unique operating models.  Complementing this experience, Mr. Benbow has recently served in multiple leadership roles at Harvard Medical School (HMS), completing his tenure there as the school’s Interim Executive Dean for Administration in 2014.

Wesley A. Bembow, MBA
Wesley A. Benbow, MBA

In the newly created role of Executive Dean for Administration and Finance, Mr. Benbow will serve as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer for the medical school.  Reporting to Interim Dean Duane Compton, Mr. Benbow will be responsible for the management of all of Geisel’s administrative, financial, and non-academic affairs. In this role, Mr. Benbow will serve as liaison concerning all administrative and financial matters to Dartmouth College, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the White River Junction VA Medical Center and Geisel’s other partner institutions. As part of the administrative portfolio, he will have oversight for space planning and facilities, research administration, human resources, as well as information technology.

“Wes brings extensive experience to this new position in Geisel where he will have oversight of both operations and finance,” said Duane Compton, Interim Dean of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. “He is a valuable addition to the senior leadership of the school, and I know that he looks forward to working with our students, faculty and staff.”

As Harvard Medical School’s Interim Executive Dean for Administration from July 2013 – June 2014, Mr. Benbow was responsible for the management and oversight of all the school’s administrative functions.  From 2010-2014, he also served as Associate Dean for Finance and Chief Financial Officer at HMS, responsible for ongoing financial operations and strategic financial planning activities of the school and its subsidiaries.

Prior to joining Harvard, Mr. Benbow worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, MA where he served as first as Director of Finance from 2004-2007, and then as Vice President of Finance and Facilities from 2007-2010. In the latter role, he oversaw the daily financial operations and facilities management requirements of the Harvard-affiliated academic medical center.  From 2000-2004, Mr. Benbow was a practice leader at Feeley & Driscoll, a Boston-based accounting and consulting firm.

Mr. Benbow has been an active member of several national professional organizations, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the National Council of University Research Administrators. He has also served on and chaired committees for the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Mr. Benbow holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.

About the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Founded in 1797, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth strives to improve the lives of the communities it serves through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The Geisel School of Medicine is renowned for its leadership in medical education, health care policy and delivery science, biomedical research, global health, and in creating innovations that improve lives worldwide. As one of America’s leading medical schools, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of diverse leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in health care.