Nancy Hobbs has been selected as the university’s new director of procurement services. Her appointment was effective Sept. 1.
Hobbs, who has served as interim director of procurement services since late 2009, was chosen after an extensive national search to fill the position.
Photo by Scott Galvin, U-M Photo Services.
Procurement Services, which is part of the Finance Division at the university, includes a number of key functions, such as procurement, accounts payable, print/copy/mail and strategic contract management. The department manages a yearly spend of more than $1.5 billion and supports the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses as well as the U-M Health System.
“Nancy brings a unique set of skills to a position that has tremendous responsibility because it impacts nearly everything we do at the university,” says Rowan Miranda, associate vice president for finance. “Over the next year, we will be charting a course to achieve significant cost savings for the campus and health system by adopting smarter ways to purchase goods and services — methods such as strategic sourcing, which are widely adopted in the private sector.”
Hobbs has deep expertise in strategic sourcing and accounts payable operations. She has been with the university since 2003 and has held several key positions in Business and Finance prior to becoming interim director. Before joining the university, she held a number of finance-related positions, ranging from chief financial officer to vice president of finance, at several manufacturing companies. She also worked as an auditor at Ford Motor Company and as a certified public accountant at Arthur Andersen. She holds a BBA from U-M as well as an MBA from Eastern Michigan University.
“I’m looking forward to advancing the many key universitywide cost-saving initiatives that are already underway in Procurement Services,” Hobbs says. “Our procurement services team is committed to providing exemplary customer service and we will be implementing new ideas that allow us to actively partner with the university community to meet their procurement needs.”
