Ernie Costello

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ernie oversees all financial operations and provides strategic financial leadership to support the organization's mission. The CFO works closely with the Executive Director and Board of Directors to develop and implement financial strategies that support the organization’s mission and goals, as well as foster the organization's growth and impact in the global community. The CFO is responsible for ensuring the organization’s financial health and sustainability and will play a pivotal role in maintaining compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

Ernie most recently served as the Senior Assistant Dean and CFO for the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced, responsible for Finance, Instructional Lab Operations, Personnel, Faculty Support, and Research Operations. His other roles in higher education have included serving as Assistant Dean, Executive Director of Extension Ventures, and instructor at UC Berkeley Extension. His professional career prior to UC Berkeley was in Strategic Planning, Corporate Development, and Finance in the semiconductor industry with Globalfoundries, eSilicon, and Xilinx. In these roles, he led strategy processes, conducted M&A activities, facilitated internal venturing, placed corporate venture investments, and managed multi-billion-dollar capital budgeting processes.

Before his stint in the semiconductor industry, Ernie worked as a consultant creating and executing growth strategies for high technology companies such as Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Hexcel, Loral, Etec, Macromedia, BestBuy, Intermedia, and PrimeCo. He began his career as an R&D engineer and engineering manager with Loral Space and Range Systems and Eaton/AIL Systems.    

Ernie grew up in Andover, Massachusetts.  He received undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University and received his MBA at Santa Clara University.  

When he’s outside the office, Ernie enjoys the outdoors through running, cycling, and hiking. He also loves to cook and brew beer, earning gold medals in some state and national brewing competitions.