Get to know: Greg Verret

Greg Verret has been a part of Niner Nation since 2012. Now, he’s the Interim Controller and Director of Treasury Services. Take a few minutes to get to know Greg, his roles in financial services at the University, some unexpected facts and ways he and his family stay involved in Niner Nation outside of work.

How long have you been a member of Niner Nation?
I’ve been a member of Niner Nation for nine and a half years.

How would you describe your role and responsibilities?
Our Treasury Services group oversees the finance, accounting and endowment management operations for the University’s affiliated entities, which includes the Foundation of UNC Charlotte, the Athletic Foundation of UNC Charlotte, the UNC Charlotte Investment Fund and Ventureprise. In addition, our team helps manage the debt portfolio for the University and works closely with campus departments to administer the University’s trust funds. I’m also currently serving as Interim Controller while the University conducts a search to fill that role.

Have you always worked in financial services?
I started my career in public accounting, and then spent nine years at Bank of America before joining the University in 2012. I held a few different roles within the Controller’s Office prior to moving into my current role in 2017.

Why are treasury services important for the University?
The short answer is stewardship – our team, in coordination with many other partners across campus, plays a key role in ensuring that the University’s fiscal resources, including those coming from outside donors, are properly administered to support the University’s mission and its students.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
Our team has been in the middle of some very interesting, yet challenging projects in the last few years, such as the financing for the Hotel and Conference Center project as well as working through the financial impacts and complexities resulting from the pandemic. It’s been very encouraging to see how our groups across campus collaborate on common goals and challenges.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
It’s fulfilling to work at a University with a mission like ours that has such a direct and important impact on the 30,000+ students that attend each year. This is what first attracted me to work at UNC Charlotte, and is what motivates our team to continuously improve in what we do and how we do it.

What’s something people might not know about your job?
There is quite a bit of ongoing, informal interaction between our office and key partners across all colleges and departments on questions related to fund usage, endowment management, gift agreements and other topics. Our team takes pride in regularly consulting with departmental business officers and fund administrators on these kinds of issues and believes it helps contribute to the collaborative and strong operational environment at the University.

What is something that many people don’t know about you?
For the past few years, my family has enjoyed participating in the Charlotte Host Family program, which pairs an international student at the University with a local family for a regular get-together, such as a monthly family dinner. We’ve enjoyed having students from China, India, Japan and elsewhere over to our home over the years as part of this program, and we’ve been able to help some of our students with some basic tasks like finding a bank or going shopping. It’s been wonderful getting to know each student, and we’ve hopefully helped them feel a little more at home while they are so far away from their own families. We’ve also been exposed to some very interesting food through these friendships!

Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
For fun, I enjoy backpacking with my sons as well as working on various projects around the house. I also enjoy cooking on the weekends and trying to re-create my mom’s and grandmother’s recipes (although their versions always seem to taste better than mine…)

Interview by Jordan Estabrook