Agency of Education names CFO

The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) announced today that William Bates has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Agency of Education effective August 5, 2019.

“Mr. Bates brings an extensive background in financial and organization management to the AOE,” said Secretary of Education, Daniel M. French, Ed.D. “His proven ability to lead change while also attending to business fundamentals will be a great asset to our agency. He is a collaborative leader who can bring people together to address complex issues like those facing our education system.”

Mr. Bates has significant professional experience working in financial services, governmental and nonprofit organizations. He began his career at the Montpelier-based accounting firm of Sullivan & Powers, and later moved to the National Life Insurance Company where from 1998–2014 he served as Senior Auditor, 2nd Vice President for Treasury Operations, and as the Strategic Leader/Project Manager for the Financial Management Group.

A Certified Public Accountant and Project Management Professional, Mr. Bates launched his own consulting firm, wtb & Associates, LLC of Barre, VT, in 2014. As a consultant, some of his major projects included working with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Vermont to create, brand, launch and market their Organizational Efficiency Program – Blue IDEAs – (Initiatives Deserving Exploratory Analysis) which enabled the company to lower its operating expenses by over one and a half million dollars. At Copley Health Services, he served as Manager of their $12.5M Certificate of Need Strategic Initiative, which replaced their existing 40-year-old facility with a new state-of-the-art surgical suite.

A native of central Vermont, Mr. Bates has served on a variety of volunteer and community-based organizations, including serving as a former school board member and an elected town auditor. He has been an active volunteer at U-32 Middle and Senior High School where he has participated as a mentor, coach and booster club volunteer.

Mr. Bates holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Norwich University and is a recent graduate of the Vermont Leadership Institute (VLI), a program established by the Snelling Center for Government in 1995 to stimulate interest in public service. “I was inspired by my VLI experience to seek out an opportunity to make a difference through public service,” said Bates. “I am excited about the opportunity to join the senior leadership team at the AOE to enact my VLI pledge to ‘seek to do more than might otherwise seem possible’ by supporting the development of Vermont’s education system.”

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