VITL’s CFO Robert Turnau Retires; Finance Veteran Cara Callanan Is Named the Health Data Utility’s New CFO

As the organization’s new CFO, Callanan will lead VITL’s financial activity to ensure the continued stable growth of Vermont’s health data utility.   

VITL announced today that vice president of finance and chief financial officer, Robert “Bob” Turnau, will retire after seven years with the organization and a career in finance spanning nearly 40 years. VITL has named Cara Callanan as the organization’s new chief financial officer (CFO).   

“We’re so thankful for Bob’s dedication and commitment to VITL’s mission and his steadfast stewardship of the organization’s financial health over the years,” said Beth Anderson, CEO at VITL. “Bob’s willingness to share his vast experience in nonprofit finance has enabled our team to develop and grow the expertise needed to continue meeting our commitment to supporting higher quality care and reduced costs — helping keep Vermont as one of the healthiest states in the country.​ Bob will be greatly missed, as will his unique sense of humor and deep repertoire of accounting jokes.”  

Turnau joined VITL in 2016, directing all financial and human resources activities, including budgeting, grants, and human resource management for 32 staff members. A strong leader, Turnau worked hard to develop an effective finance program and ensure financial stability for the nonprofit as it grew to cover health care organizations and patients across the state of Vermont. As a valued member of VITL’s leadership team, Turnau has played a key role in helping to deliver on its mission to securely aggregate, standardize, and share the data needed to improve the effectiveness of health care for Vermonters. Before joining VITL, Bob worked in finance for BFGoodrich and then General Dynamics, where he oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars for the company, produced more than 1,500 proposals per year, and secured a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract with the United States Army.  

Callanan, who started as CFO on April 17, brings more than 30 years of experience to her new role. She will lead VITL’s financial activity, including managing budgets, securing grant opportunities, and driving financial planning. Prior to joining VITL, Cara spent the last decade managing the accounting needs at numerous universities in New England, including Harvard University, where she served as an accounting manager earlier in her career. More recently, Cara served as the CFO at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Mass., and then as vice president of finance and controller at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass.  

“As VITL heads into a new phase of innovation for our health care community in Vermont, we’re thrilled to have Cara join our team,” said Anderson. “Cara’s thoughtful approach and deep expertise in finance are huge assets as the organization continues to work toward our mission to deliver health data to improve health outcomes for all Vermonters.”