Professional, faith lives come together for new CFO
John Marek to head archdiocesan finance office

By Brian T. Olszewski, Catholic Herald Staff

ST. FRANCIS – What John J. Marek has learned during 28 years in the corporate world and 54 years as a Catholic is coming together in the Cousins Center April 2 when he becomes the chief financial officer for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Marek, a Green Bay native who grew up in Oconomowoc and Manitowoc, said it was the opportunity to combine his profession and faith that led him to seek the job.

“I saw it as a chance to make a contribution in a different way, a chance to take my professional life – the talents I was blessed with, my experience, my skills – and place that at that service of my faith, which is the cornerstone in my life,” he said of the position for which Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan hired him.

For the former Diocese of Green Bay seminarian, prayer was a constant as he applied and interviewed for the CFO position.

“It was the right thing for me at the right time in my life,” Marek said of the opportunity. “I was hopeful that I had the skill set and experience base that would fit, but certainly prayer was there all the way through. If I could be of service, I would be able to step into this position and be a contributor.”

His work history includes vice president-finance and CFO since 2000 at InPro Corporation, which sells products used in construction, primarily in the health care field. Prior to joining InPro, Marek, who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from UW – Madison, spent 21 years in the sports division of Huffy Corporation, including 13 as vice president and controller.

Marek said he does not anticipate a difficult transition from the corporate world to the not-for-profit sector due, in part, to the similarities for which he sees both striving: ethical accounting, transparency, good corporate governance, efficiently and effectively delivering services.

“It’s a matter of taking skills and experiences and not saying, ‘I’m moving into the non-profit and I’m going to try to run it the same way things ran in the corporate world,’” he explained. “It’s taking how do things get done, how do you work with people effectively, and find ways to take techniques, experiences and bring them into the not-for-profit world.”

Marek expects “to do a lot of listening and learning” in the job, particularly to the archbishop, councils, committees and the archdiocese’s financial services department.

“I realize there are going to be a lot of differences. I’m hopeful I can take things I did in the past and find ways to adapt those to help carry out what the archdiocese needs and what is expected of me in the CFO role,” he said.

Marek and his wife, Kathi, and their sons, John, a student at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Jim, a student at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, are members of Holy Apostles Parish, New Berlin, where he has been a parish council member; finance committee member and chairman; and home and school board member and president. He said those experiences could assist him in how he helps parishes.

“At the parish level, many, many people give so generously of their time as volunteers, but they’re not all experts in what they’re volunteering for. They may need resources, help with questions they may have,” he said. “I realize patience and responsiveness are going to be key elements in addressing questions that may come from the parish level.”

Among the gifts Marek identified as having are communication – as listener and presenter, problem solving, creativity, analysis, diligence and the ability to work with others as a team. Teams do better than individuals, in his experience, because of the strength in collective power.

“You have a team because you have something you are trying to accomplish. And when people realize you are trying to get better, it may make their jobs easier, it may make the organization better, they do get excited about that,” he said. “They buy in, they participate, they take ownership of the things that the team comes up with.”

While Marek anticipates there will be challenges in his new position, he won’t hesitate to call upon peers in the corporate world and professional associations of which he is a member to brainstorm solutions to problems, nor will he be without his “cornerstone.”

“I have faith that my experience is going to lead me to make good decisions and to be a contributor, to be effective in CFO role,” he said. “I’ve got faith that I can learn and get answers as I get deeper into the job and learn more about it.”

Marek will work alongside the archdiocese’s current CFO, Wayne Schneider, who will retire at the end of June.

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