Chief Financial Officer
Barbara Uggen-Davis is the Chief Financial Officer at Elevate Ventures. Barbara has over 30 years of experience in operations management, accounting, and human resources for startups, small business, and non-profit. She is an active community volunteer, serving as the Treasurer for Footlite Musicals and volunteers in several other area non-profits in the areas of disability and disaster services. Barbara volunteers on the executive committees of the boards of directors for the Institute of Management Accountants Indianapolis Chapter and Lincoln Trail Regional Council, having held positions of Chapter President, Chapter Secretary, Council Treasurer and Council Vice President.
Barbara holds an MBA in Business Management and Business Information Systems from City University with President’s Honors for Meritorious Scholastic Achievement and holds a BA in Business Administration with an Accounting Concentration from the University of Washington. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, travel, playing with her two dogs, and sitting in the front row for the abundance of great live theater in Indianapolis.
- What motivates you? Empowering and lifting up those around me. I am happiest when I can see the impact of my work helping enable the success of others. From volunteering in the community to mentoring the next generation of leaders, my passion is service.
- What is your claim to fame? Just a few months into my career, I discovered and reported embezzlement during my summer internship. This experience taught me a lot about fraud in small business and how employers can prevent and detect it. I saw the impact the fraud had not just on the company, but on the whole staff, including the person responsible. This experience shaped my views on professional ethics and the importance of good internal controls.
- Any “did you know?” random facts about yourself to share? In 1998, I was one of the students to ask a question of Warren Buffet & Bill Gates in “A Conversation with Warren Buffet & Bill Gates – University of Washington”
