NYU Langone Health announced Tuesday that Joseph Lhota, current executive vice president and vice dean, chief of staff, has been appointed to serve as chief financial officer (CFO), effective February 1.

Lhota replaces Daniel J. Widawsky, who is leaving NYU Langone on January 31 to return to the finance sector after more than five years of dedicated leadership as the institution’s CFO.

As the new CFO, Lhota will continue to oversee several areas he currently supervises, including academic department operations, corporate strategy, and emergency management.

Lhota has a distinguished track record of successfully leading the financial management of large, intricate institutions, notably serving as New York City’s commissioner of finance, director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, and the deputy mayor for operations, overseeing New York City’s $36 billion operating budget and $45 billion capital improvement program. He was also chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority before joining NYU Langone. From 2002 to 2010, he served as chief administrative officer at The Madison Square Garden Company as well as Cablevision Systems Corporation. Earlier in his career, Lhota spent 14 years in public finance investment banking, serving state and local governments, healthcare institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the United States. He received an undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University and a master of business administration from the Harvard Business School.

As chief of staff since 2014, Lhota has helped ensure the integration of NYU Langone’s clinical, academic, and research mission areas, shaping the system’s strategic vision and successfully leading the integration of Lutheran Medical Center into NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. Lhota also supervised a team that helped the institution navigate the Covid-19 pandemic and other emergencies, while also strengthening its relationships with governments and local communities.

Widawsky joined NYU Langone in 2018 after serving as director of EFO Management, an investment and management firm, and as the comptroller for the City of Chicago. In his time here, Widawsky helped implement the strategies, processes, and tools that led to NYU Langone’s strong financial position today.

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