Noel Hirst

Noel serves as the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the External Relations organization. She has responsibility for ensuring administrative management and financial operations enable the organization to achieve its strategic and operational goals. Noel collaborates with Senior Staff to set the strategic, long-term plans and direction for the functional areas of her responsibility including major initiatives, policy development, and workforce planning.  She has management and leadership responsibilities for an integrated team, which includes Human Resources and Talent Acquisition, Finance, Organizational Learning and Performance, Facilities, Information Technology, and the Stanford Ticket Office.  Several of these units are also shared or Co/managed with Stanford Alumni Association. Noel is also a program sponsor of the ADAPT program and is our External Relations university representative serving on a variety of university committees and working groups related to university administration.

Noel began her career at Stanford as a consultant for Business Affairs assisting with budgeting in 2001. She was hired as the Budget Officer for Business Affairs in 2002 and was promoted to Director, Business Affairs Budget and Facilities in 2007 and Assistant Vice President in 2009.  Noel joined External Relations in October of 2019. Noel is a financial executive with over 30 years’ experience in high technology startups, mid-sized companies, and the university, with over 25 years at the senior staff level in VP of Finance & Operations, and CFO roles. Noel started her career at Deloitte where she obtained her CPA. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Cal State University, Sacramento, focused in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Chief Administration Office

The External Relations Chief Administration Office coordinates and manages Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Training activities, Finance, Facilities, and Operational IT for the External Relations organization. 

We devise the VP and the VP’s direct reports on operational and financial impacts and feasibility of initiatives, as well as strategic planning. The CAO and her team are tasked with looking broadly across all our units to find synergies, streamline, and eliminate redundancies, and to align the administrative functions under the CAO management. We strive to be excellent business partners and trusted advisors to the organizations we support and to support the mission and values of Stanford University.