Mitchell Wein

Mitchell Wein is the senior vice president for finance and chief operating officer. This position, in partnership with the president, is a key member of the executive leadership team and serves in the leadership role for the Institution’s financial and operating activities. The following departments and units report into the SVP/COO: the Brookings Library, the Controller’s Office, Financial Management, the Investment Office, Facilities (including Dining), Human Resources, BTech (information technology), and Safety & Security.

Prior to coming to Brookings, Wein served in executive administrative roles for 15 years at national liberal arts colleges, including as the senior vice president for administration and finance at Haverford College and in a similar position for Lafayette College. Wein had broad responsibility and oversight of a number of their core operating and financial functions including facilities management, plant operations, human resources, campus safety, finance, the controller’s office, budgeting and planning, auxiliaries, risk management, conferences and events, and real estate activities, among others.

Before his leadership roles in higher education, Wein worked in the private sector for 20 years as a managing director in investment banking with UBS Investment Bank/UBS PaineWebber and PNC Capital Markets. At PNC, he served as the head of its Public Finance Department with oversight of eight offices across four states. During his career, he managed $10 billion in financings and earned Series 6, 7, 24, 52, 53, and 63 securities licenses. His client base consisted primarily of governmental institutions, private colleges, public and private research universities, and other 501(c)(3) or state-related entities.

Among other board service, from 2015 through 2021 Wein served on the board of directors of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). During his years on the NACUBO board, he served as chair and vice chair of its Finance and Audit Committee and on the Executive Governance Committee. He was also elected to the board of directors of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) in 2013 and served through 2021 including as its board chair (president) from 2017 to 2019, among other roles. In 2023, he joined EACUBO’s Governance Committee as an external member and currently serves in that capacity.

Wein earned a Master of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University in public policy and management and industrial administration, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Arizona State University.