Alan Smith is the VP of Institutional Portfolio Management at Western Governors University (WGU), reporting directly to the CFO. Alan is dedicated to driving strategic business transformation, innovation, and operational excellence in higher education systems creating equitable pathways to opportunity. In his current role at WGU, he is responsible for Enterprise Risk Management, Enterprise Change Management, Institutional Portfolio & Project Management, Business Process Optimization, and Facilities. His expertise includes risk management, system optimization, value engineering, operational transformation, change management, and product lifecycle management. Alan’s six years of experience in higher education is complemented by his prior global leadership roles in manufacturing and supply chain operations at GE, Motorola, Dell, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Edwards Lifesciences. Alan also serves on a Penn State College of Industry Engineering advisory board focused on service systems optimization.