N. Kurt Barnes, the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Episcopal Church USA since October 2003, has a career that spans finance and investment management in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He is a life-long Episcopalian, born and raised in Washington, DC.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University in 1968, he joined the RAND Corporation as an economist on a team of researchers who introduced cost-benefit analysis and operational improvements to several NYC agencies including Health and Hospitals and the Fire Department.
While continuing as a consultant at RAND, he earned a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard University in 1973. His dissertation topic on the financial management of nonprofit organizations led to his first paid journalism assignment and a job as an Associate Editor at Time Inc.’s Fortune Magazine. While at Time, he also worked in the corporate planning group and was responsible for initiating several of the company’s non-publishing ventures.
Kurt later worked for 20 years as a financial officer at Inco Limited (International Nickel Company of Canada). As a member of the treasury group, he was responsible for bank and capital markets financing; financial reporting and regulatory filings; and investor relations. He simultaneously led the investment subsidiary that designed, implemented and managed the company’s $3.0 billion pension and 401(k) assets in Canada, the US, the UK and Indonesia.
He subsequently joined Morgan Stanley as a VP in the Fiduciary Advisor group, providing investment consulting and advice to institutional and private clients. That work included asset liability studies, investment policy statements, asset allocation policy, portfolio construction, manager selection and client relations.
In 2002, in a reorganization initiated by the New York State Attorney General, Kurt was asked to become CFO of Hale House Center, Inc. to improve financial governance, planning and accountability of that troubled child welfare agency. He also served as the Interim Deputy Executive Director for Finance and Information Technology at Amnesty International USA.
His volunteer activities in the past 10 years include service to the Episcopal Diocese of New York as a member of program, budget and governance committees, along with service as the treasurer of the diocese for the past three years. He is also the treasurer of the Hale Foundation, Inc., an organization that provides funding to enhance the educational and social activities of a group of Yale seniors.
Kurt resides in New York City and has a home in Millbrook, NY, where he serves on the vestry of Grace Church. He is an avid cook, which necessitates his regular activity as a runner, swimmer and cyclist.
Kurt does not aspire to the job of Presiding Bishop, though that is a job that his late great aunt would have preferred he take.
