Presenters: Tamara Branson & Chris Berger
Tamara Branson has served as Commissioner of Finance for the Town of Brookhaven since 2012 and was appointed to her sixth term in January 2022. She is responsible for an operating budget of over $335 million, a capital budget of approximately $215 million, and a grant portfolio of $94 million. She manages accounting, payroll, budgetary compliance, grants, and internal audit for the Town, as well as all cash management and debt issuance and payments. Ms. Branson possesses over 40 years of financial management experience in the public and private sectors and has a Master of Accountancy degree from Virginia Tech.
Prior to the Town of Brookhaven, Ms. Branson served as Comptroller for the Town of Southampton and spent sixteen years at Prudential Financial in their domestic and international securities, commodities, and private banking businesses, serving a variety of roles including Chief Operating Officer for international businesses. Ms. Branson also worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers for six years and began her career as an accountant for a liberal arts college.
Chris Berger, is a seasoned procurement leader with a proven ability to transform, build and lead global operations. He has worked in corporate, consulting and government environments with twenty-five plus years’ experience in procurement, supply chain, travel, expense, vendor risk and contract management. Prior to joining Suffolk County, Chris served as Chief Procurement Officer at Hearst Media, Bloomberg and Computer Associates. As a subject matter expert, Chris frequently speaks at industry symposiums, conferences and industry webinars and has served on the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) Advisory Board.
Please Note: The Workshops are being held the morning of the Annual SHOWCASE at The Piermont. You must RSVP separately for each workshop that you would like to attend.
