New Carrboro Finance Director Bret Greene assumes role

On Jan. 2, Bret Greene assumed his new role as finance director for the Town of Carrboro.

In this role, Greene supervises financial operations and reporting of all municipal funds, such as the Town's budget, audit and debt management.

After spending numerous years in the for-profit sector, Greene said he applied because he wanted to transition to more service-oriented work.

“It seemed an amicable fit, and an opportunity for both my personal and professional growth, as well as, more importantly, to benefit and solidify the strong foundation that the Town of Carrboro already laid in place with their financial outlook,” he said.

Greene also said he chose the job to set a good example for his family. He said he wants to be able to stand behind something that adds to the community, taking a selfless approach to what a career means.

Michael Cox, the director of asset management for Bell Partners, said Greene is a family guy, always making sure he is giving them the attention they need and is involved with their day-to-day activities. Cox said one of Greene's main values is his relationships.

“He's always going to have a smile," Cox said. "He's always going to give you some positive encouragement in any type of situation. It's just the nature of who he is.”

Greene served as director of financial planning and analysis at Highwood Properties, a real estate investment trust company based in Raleigh, for 16 years. Greene said he managed a staff of 11 employees and oversaw areas including financial forecasting, capital improvement plans and customer service.

“The budgeting and the planning will be nailed to the penny," Jim Bacchetta, the former senior vice president of Highwood Properties, said. "I think he will bring pragmatism and private sector experience to bear and make sure that the dollars are spent as they're supposed to be spent as efficiently as possible. You couldn't have a better guy in that position to steward that budget.”

The Town's application process felt like it had a personal touch, Greene said, because it consisted of face-to-face interaction — including meeting staff at the town hall — rather than just phone calls and video conferences.

“I try to lead my staff with the same opportunities for in-person conversation, and knowing that post-COVID, obviously, telecommuting is also the right medium in many circumstances,” he said.

Greene also serves as the director of financial affairs for Educate Tomorrow’s Parents, a non-profit that prepares young adults to care for their future family by offering a curriculum of health education and family science.

Jeff Quinn, chief operating officer of Book Harvest, said Greene will be tasked with making financial decisions about what Carrboro can cover and ensuring those decisions are equitable.

“Bret is good at that, the [Town] of Carrboro is good at that and that's just a really good winning equation for good decisions to be made,” he said.

Quinn said Greene brought him to Educate Tomorrow's Parents as a consultant to expand their capacity and infrastructure. He said Greene set the table well for him and the executive director to connect and hit the ground running.

“It was, to me, just a microcosm of how he's such a great connector in terms of bringing people together and helping them get to a meeting prepared, ready to go, and then come out of it with a solution,” he said.

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