Skip to main content

After 10 Years as Chief Financial Officer, Joe Trainor Readies for Retirement

May 11, 2023

It is often said that the measure of a person is in more than just their accomplishments. For Dario Altieri, CEO of The Wistar Institute, trying to sum up the tenure of Joe Trainor, who will be retiring this month as Wistar’s Chief Financial Officer, is not as easy as just rattling off his many achievements.

Under Trainor’s leadership, in the past 7 years, Wistar has doubled its grant funding and tripled its endowment. The effort hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2022 Joe was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as CFO of the Year for his management of the Wistar finances. He was also recently honored by the University City District, a local organization devoted to addressing economic and quality of life issues in the University City section of Philadelphia, where he served as treasurer for more than 25 years.

With the list of accomplishments out of the way, Altieri followed up with more about who Trainor is: a man of humility and compassion, who supports his team and sees his colleagues as one large family. And true to form, when Trainor took the podium to speak, he was quick to attribute his own success to that of his team. “Without them, I would not accomplish any of this, so thank you.”

As a parting gift, the lifelong Phillies fan received a Philadelphia Phillies T-shirt and a framed photo of the Wistar Institute building signed by his colleagues – a fitting tribute for who he is and what he’s done.

Now, Wistar is on the hunt for a new CFO and has engaged executive search firm Odgers Berndston to identify potential candidates for the role. Interested candidates can contact Kian Ringwood for details or to submit a resume.