Leslie Hyland joined the BBG as Chief Financial Officer on July 29, 2013. The CFO is the principal budget, accounting and financial management officer for the BBG and coordinates closely on budgetary matters with Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.
Prior to joining the BBG, Ms. Hyland served as the Director of Audit and Risk Management at The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Previously, she was the Director of Financial Policy with the U.S. Department of Energy, where her responsibilities included management, internal review, and financial development and planning. From 2006 to 2009, Ms. Hyland was the Director of Financial Management for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She has also held leadership roles in finance and accounting for the International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Department of State in Washington, Tokyo and Kiev. In her early career while living in Guatemala, Ms. Hyland served at the U.S. Agency of International Development, the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, and Pricewaterhouse.
Ms. Hyland served as the principal assistant to the U.S. Department of State’s Chief Financial Officer during his appointment as the Chairman of the Audit Committee at the Organization of American States (OAS). For her role and contributions, Ms. Hyland received the Franklin Award. Ms. Hyland has received multiple awards and recognitions for her contributions to improving Federal Financial Management, including the design and implementation of a Tax Withholding System for US Embassy Ukraine, the design and implementation of post-level Defined Contribution Fund processes for US Embassy Ukraine, and the design and implementation of an OMB Circular A-123 based financial management internal control program for NASA. At the Australian National University, Ms. Hyland’s design of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF), an ISO 3100 based framework received recognition from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). In her early career as a Finance and Accounting Professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Ms. Hyland introduced an innovative study program that she coined the “ Individualized Study Program (ISP)”, a computer-based self-study program for undergraduate part-time students.
Hyland earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish. Hyland has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2006.