Harriot College Alumni Profile: Zachary L. Hewett
ECU “40 Under Forty” Leadership Recipient
Zachary L. Hewett, Applied Economics (BS, ‘11); Business (MBA, ‘13); and graduate certificate in management information systems (‘13) alumnus, who lives in Bolivia, NC, is one of ECU’s 2022 “40 Under Forty” Leadership Awardees.
“I am greatly appreciative to be selected as a member of ECU’s 40 Under Forty,” Hewett said. “This award is one that I hold a deep reverence for. To be recognized by the university community for my accomplishments and successes in local government in North Carolina is an honor that I will cherish forever.”
Hewett’s #HarriotCollegeMajor is helping him #MakeADifference as a finance director for the Village of Bald Head Island, and in his previous position as city manager in Randleman, NC. Currently, Hewett is responsible for the management of funds for the village, including operating, capital projects, and enterprise funds. He provides oversight and direction in the functional areas of governmental accounting, tax collection, payroll, purchasing operations, risk management, capital projects, general budget administration, and leading and supervising staff.“
As a career local government employee, I know that my everyday decisions and actions directly affect the communities. Throughout my career, I have seen numerous projects come to fruition. Being able to see the positive impact of those completed projects is truly heartening,” Hewett said.
During his time as a student, Hewett said ECU and Harriot College prepared him to succeed by providing an opportunity in which he was able to learn and grow as a person.
“The education that I received, and the experiences that I had, all helped to shape me into who I am today,” he said. “I am thankful for the guidance and support of all of the ECU and THCAS faculty that I interacted with during my time there.”
Hewett shared that after completing his undergraduate degree, he was unsure which master’s degree program he wanted to pursue. So, while applying for multiple programs, he had to take both the GMAT and GRE exams. He said it has been more than a decade since then, and he still remembers he scored an 800 on the mathematics portion of the GRE – a perfect score at the time.