Heather Dunn
About
Board Profile
Heather has been involved in audit committees for 15+ years at large and small clients, both for-profit and non-for profit. Her current role as CFO has engages her in the company's audit committee, investment committee, as well as the full board. She has deep insurance experience and banking exposure, both at local and national levels. Most notably she's attacked significant technological change, from the RFP stage through implementation that included internal control and data considerationsBoard Experience
Museum of Wisconsin Art Board Member – August 2017 to Present; Board Chair 2020-2021; Finance Committee 2017-Present
United Performing Arts Fund Board and Audit Committee Member – December 2017 to Present; Audit Committee 2018-Present; Campaign Co-Chair 2021
Concordia University – Wisconsin – Foundation Board 2020-Present; Investment Committee 2020-Present
CharismaQ – Board Advisor 2020-Present
West Bend Country Club – Board Member and various committees 2017-Present
IASA (International Accounting and Systems Association) Board Member – March 2015 to 2020
Greater Milwaukee Heart & Stroke Walk Executive Team – 2019
Tempo Washington County – President June 2015-2018
Skylighters of Wisconsin (Skylight Music Theater) Treasurer – 2005-2011
Professional Summary
Experience:
West Bend Mutual Insurance – since July 2008
Started as Controller and rose to AVP – Corporate Accounting, VP & Controller, VP & CFO, and SVP & CFO since 2019. Responsibilities at this $1.6B property and casualty insurance carrier include leadership of the finance department and its main functions (accounting and reporting, taxes, investment accounting, billing) as well as oversight of internal audit. Passions include evolution of company technology and corporate strategy, and is a member of the strategic leadership team.
Spearheaded and fully engaged in four significant technological changes over this tenure, including new General Ledger, Investment Accounting, Accounts Payable and Reinsurance systems. Deployed a Corporate Performance Management system which allowed for strategic growth and expansion of reporting capabilities. Rolled out new payment functionalities that improved customer experience and cut costs. A key member of the management team that replaced our policy administration system and billing platforms that engaged with our enterprise data warehouse. Led the idea to implement a customer experience shift for the billing team that involves the “effortless experience” model, which moved throughout the company.
Ernst & Young – June 2001 to July 2008
Audit manager in the Financial Services Practice, which included auditing mid-sized to large banks and insurance companies.
Education:
University of Notre Dame – Mendoza College of Business
Master of Science, Accountancy – cum laude 2001-2002
St. Norbert College
Bachelor of Arts, Math and Business Administration – magna cum laude 1997-2001
Graduate of the Honors Program
Universitat Salzburg study abroad program in 1999-2000
Certifications:
Certified Public Accountant (Wisconsin)
Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter
Recognition & Awards
BizTimes Notable Women in Insurance 2021
Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2018
Washington County Daily News 40 Under 40 in 2017
Personal
Wife to Brian, also a CPA but current stay-at-home dad of our 3 kids (Hayden, Calvin, Ashlyn) and our dog, Titan Enjoy singing, including occasional public displays for charity events and with our in-house company band called "Bending West" Enjoyed volunteering with Junior Achievement for the past 15 years Like to golf, boat/waterski, read, exercise, drink wineAdditional Info
Skills : Corporate Governance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance, Financial Expert, Legal, Risk & Compliance, Technology/Digital/Cybersecurity
Leadership on Board : Director, Advisor, Board Chair, Committee Chair, Committee Member
Level of Experience : Cxo/President
Company Revenue : $1B - 3B
Industry : Financial Services
Committees : Audit, Executive, Finance, Fundraising & Development
Board Experience : Public, Private, Advisory, Non-for-Profit