Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) has announced the appointment of Pim Thukral as its Chief Operations Officer (COO). Thukral is joining NU-Q from Georgetown’s main campus in Washington D.C., where she served as vice president for financial accounting and systems.
She succeeds COO Kathryn Symank who is returning to College Station, Texas, where she was an associate vice president at Texas A & M University before joining NU-Q.
In addition to her experience with Georgetown University at its home campus, Thukral has also worked in Education City at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. At Cornell, she was its director of finance and acting director of human resources.
“Ms. Thukral, who will build on the exemplary work of Ms. Symank who strengthened NU-Q operations, comes at a pivotal time in NU-Q’s history as we move to our new building. With experience at the highest levels of university leadership at a major U.S. campus as well as significant international experience, Ms. Thukral brings a track record of successful activity that will redound to our benefit at NU-Q,” said Everette E. Dennis, CEO and dean.
Over a 20-year period at Georgetown, Thukral served as the university’s budget officer—and held several portfolios at Georgetown’s Medical Center where she was chief finance officer, director of budget and decision support, financial planning analyst, and financial officer. She is widely respected as an organizational change leader with a collaborative style as well as a strategic thinker who is effective in carrying out tactical plans, both qualities essential to leading operations at NU-Q.
As COO at NU-Q, Thukral will oversee all operational functions and work collaboratively with the dean and the school’s leadership to develop institutional strategies and facilitate these efforts across all departments and programs.
Thukral has an MBA in finance and accounting from Tulane University and a BS in computer science, also from Tulane. She is a certified public accountant in the State of Maryland and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
