Meet Doug Ahlgren
Joining the Finance Operations Center leadership team as a senior purchasing and procurement manager, Doug Ahlgren will lead the team providing services related to purchasing and accounts payable.
Doug brings a wealth of purchasing, supplier sourcing, contract management, and related experience from his time serving in the United States Air Force and here at the University of Minnesota in the Office of Information Technology (OIT), where he currently manages enterprise contracts for services, hardware purchasing, and software purchasing for the system.
Doug lives just north of Duluth, and we can all look forward to varied and interesting first-hand news and weather reports from the Iron Range. Doug and his family run a hobby farm where they raise Scottish Highland cattle. He is also an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, fishing, and training bird dogs.
Q & A with Doug
To learn more about his leadership style and get to know Doug a bit more, we talked with him about the new role in the Fin Ops Center.
Q: What do you believe will be the biggest resource that the Fin Ops Center will provide campuses, colleges and units?
A: I’d say, customer service will be our primary value proposition. Purchasing at the University is a complex subject area full of policies, regulations, and pitfalls. Fin Ops doesn’t change the University’s purchasing policies but it will provide a go-to location for guidance, help, and the support people need to make purchasing smoother and less stressful.
Q: How will you lead your staff, stay connected with the Fin Ops Center and work closely with the units you will be supporting across the State?
A: As we staff up the Fin Ops Center I’ll be developing a regular cadence of check-ins and 1:1s with the team. I also plan to visit each of the campuses on a regular basis to connect with staff and customers face-to-face in those locations. Whether you reach out through email, chat, Zoom, or phone my door is always open to ask questions or bounce around ideas. I think if we focus first on the work that needs to happen in most cases the modality isn’t as important. It’s like going to the toolbox and picking the right tool for the job. I want to keep the communications toolbox as well stocked as possible so we can tackle anything that comes our way.
Q: What’s your leadership style?
A: My leadership is heavily influenced by three core values: Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. I’m a big believer in the idea of creating a motivated team with a clear mission and then getting out of their way. My role as a leader is to make sure we’re articulating the vision and mission clearly; making the right tools available to achieve that mission; and providing the coaching and feedback necessary to motivate and empower each team member to take ownership over their work.
Q: What drew you to apply for a position with the Fin Ops Center?
A: From being an Air Force Contracting Officer to managing OIT’s supply chain my whole career has been about purchasing and procurement in one form or another. On top of that, I have a deep interest in and enjoy leading people. So this role seemed like a perfect fit. I’m very excited to get started building this team and bringing the Fin Ops Center to life.
Q: What are some of the challenges ahead that you will be working through as you begin working in the Fin Ops Center?
A: I think one of the first challenges is staffing up to make sure we have the capacity to handle the work we’re taking on. In addition to that, even though many of our staff are already current University employees, we’re now forming them into a new cohesive team. So, team building and creating the Fin Ops identity are going to be early challenges we’ll take on. I expect too that we’ll encounter processes and considerations unique to each of the units we’ll be supporting. We’ll have to figure out how to accommodate those things while still striving to create standardization and efficiency across the Fin Ops Center.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living on a hobby farm and what chore is your least favorite?
A: A lot of the work I do for the University is on a computer, sitting at a desk. When I log off for the day, I get to go swing a hammer or pick up the chainsaw or maybe just saddle up the horse and go for a ride. The farm brings me balance. Filling up water in the winter is probably my least favorite chore. We don’t have any auto-waterers installed yet so for the livestock tank I have to haul a hose reel out of the basement and pull that out through the snow to the tank. For the birds I haul 5 gallon buckets from the house to the barn daily to fill up water bowls. In sub-zero temps with a northwest wind, that job isn’t too fun.