KICA FINANCES
KICA Welcomes a New Director of Finance
Johnny and his wife, Kaye, live with their Boykin
Spaniel Bond in Charleston’s historic district. Their
house was built in 1830; Johnny says its upkeep is a
constant project. He also has many community ties:
he served on the board of the Charleston Wine +
Food Festival, the board of the Episcopal Diocese
Community Housing Development Organization,
and is Treasurer of the Anglican Diocese of SC. He
is also a member of the Charleston CFO Council.
When KICA’s director of Finance and Administration,
Jane Ovenden, made the decision in early 2020 to
depart, it was hard to imagine how KICA would
replace her. Not only had Jane become an integral
part of the organization, but her announcement
came shortly before the global pandemic started
reshaping daily life.
Despite these challenges, the position garnered
interest from some top candidates and in May,
KICA asked Johnny Wallace to join the team as
our director of Finance and Administration. Prior
to accepting this position, he was the director of
Finance and Auxiliary Services for Porter-Gaud
School. He previously had a 30-year career in
commercial banking here in Charleston — a fourth
generation of bankers in his family.
It was important to the leadership that KICA’s
new director came on board prior to the start of
KICA’s 2021 budgeting process, which generally
begins in August with departments working to
prioritize their needs for the following year. That
time is fast approaching, with the added challenge
of unprecedented revenue forecasting in this
pandemic environment.
Johnny is well aware of the demands this new
normal brings, saying “The world has been upended
and so has KICA’s budget. I’ve been kind of a fly on
the wall watching for the last 6 weeks or so. My first
challenges will be managing how to get through
the rest of the year budget-wise and then starting to
think strategically about 2021.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Johnny to the team. To
get to know a little more about him, check out the
interview below.
What brought you to Charleston originally?
I was born and raised in Spartanburg, SC. I attended
Duke University and the University of North Carolina
- Chapel Hill. When I got out of college, my first
job was at a bank based in Columbia. After I went
through their manager training program, they asked
me where I wanted to go. I had always wanted to live
in Charleston so I said I’ll take Charleston.
What made you decide to go into financial services?
My father was a banker, my grandfather was a banker,
and my great grandfather was a banker. So it just
seemed like the thing to do. I did an internship with
a bank in Columbia. When it came time to get a job, I
just interviewed with South Carolina banks.
When was the first time you came to Kiawah? What was
your first impression of the island?
My wife’s first job after college was working for the
Kuwaitis on Kiawah in the early 80s. She took me out
to the island when we first started dating. We went
to the Atlantic Room at the old Kiawah Inn. The first
time we went, we sat at a table next to Senator Strom
Thurmond and his wife.
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