David Weil ’93 filled the seven-month vacancy in the school’s Chief Accounting Officer position with his first day of work April 8.
Previous Chief Accounting Officer Dennis Geselowitz departed from the position in August, giving the Business Office short notice to find a replacement.
To allow more time to find the right replacement, the Business Office decided to distribute the responsibilities the Chief Accounting Officer normally performs, like making sure school resources are being managed appropriately, among its members, Weil said.
Chief Financial Officer Rob Levin said that the time spent without a Chief Accounting Officer was difficult but that the school would rather go without the officer for a short-term period rather than fill the opening quickly with somebody inadequate.
“We were really insistent on finding the right person,” Levin said. “We found a number of people who would have been fine, but fine doesn’t get it done.”
Prior to working in school accounting, Weil was a management consultant, hired to help companies with business challenges like acquiring a competitor or budgeting and financial issues.
However, Weil realized the work did not satisfy his desire for a more meaningful relationship with his employer.
“I just didn’t ever feel as though I was really connected to an organization,” Weil said. “You’re a consultant, you’re hired out for four or five months at a time, you finish the project, and then you move on to the next client.”
When Weil discussed his discontent with Harvard-Westlake administrators like Levin, they urged him to consider working for a school, which they thought he would find more fulfilling.
In 2004, Weil became Director of Finance at Laurence School and has been, he said, “thrilled with it ever since.”
Weil was working at St. Matthew’s Parish School when he learned of the opening at Harvard-Westlake. The position remained open for months before Weil talked about applying for the job with Levin, with whom he has been very close friends since he graduated from Harvard-Westlake.
