RAND Corp. Taps Nonprofit Veteran as Finance Chief

Continuing the direction of his career shift to the nonprofit sector after more than two decades working for public companies, Michael Januzik has been named CFO of the RAND Corporation, the large public-policy think tank.

Michael Januzik Nonprofit

Before moving to RAND, which operates in 53 countries and has a staff of nearly 2,000 that speaks 75 language, Januzik served since 2008 as finance chief at the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, which manages over $1 billion in assets.

In 2004, after 23 years in the for-profit world, he had been named finance chief of The California Endowment, a private, California-focused health foundation that advocates for health and health equity.

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Asked about the reason for the move to the California Endowment, Januzik said in a later interview on the Jewish Community Foundation’s website that the job combined two of his passions: managing investments and running the finances of organizations smaller than companies he’d worked for previously.

“Once I began working there,” he said, “I realized how fulfilling it was to contribute to the [foundation’s endowment’s] mission , which is helping the underserved in California obtain quality healthcare. It’s a great feeling to get up every morning knowing that you are helping the underserved.”

Januzik launched his professional career with Pacific Telesis Group (later AT&T), where he spent 12 years in investor relations, financial management, and business analysis. Finally, at Pacific Telesis, he served as CFO of the company’s $65 million Pacific Bell Information Services unit. Later, Januzik worked for five years as a portfolio manager for QuantiLogic Asset Management.

“RAND is in the midst of exciting growth in our research operations and fundraising activities, so we are pleased to have an experienced leader such as Mike Januzik to carry on the tradition of careful financial management at RAND,” said RAND chief executive Michael Rich in a release.

Januzik replaces Richard Fallon, who retired earlier this month after 17 years as RAND’s CFO. In a 2011 interview in ArgyleJournal, Fallon compared what it’s like being a finance chief at a non-profit to being one at a public company. Describing RAND as “a large and complex organization,” he said that “many of the same things that are critical to the role of the CFO of a for-profit firm are also critical for the CFO of a nonprofit organization in helping manage and grow the institution consistent with its strategic direction and mission.” (ArgyleJournal is an online publication of Argyle Executive Forum, owner of CFO Publishing.)

“For example,” he added, “development of business plans and forecasting models, quantitative analysis to inform decisions, capital expenditures and investment analysis to redeploy capital, and a continual focus on cash flow and a healthy balance sheet are common to both. Naturally, whether the organization is for-profit or nonprofit, all of those things require an effective and efficient finance organization.”