PELLA — Central College President Mark Putnam announced the appointment of Kayla Flanders as chief financial officer and controller. Flanders served as vice president of finance at Pella Corporation since 2024. She begins her duties at Central Tuesday, Oct. 28.
“Kayla’s professional expertise and extensive background in audit, compliance, risk management and governance are crucial skill sets today for institutions of higher education and certainly Central,” Putnam said. “She has the ability to build relationships, communicate complex scenarios and engage in strategic discussions that will help inform our critical budget and forecasting work. As a community member, Kayla understands the strong partnerships among the college, the city and our business communities. I am pleased to welcome her to the team.”
Flanders served in a series of finance roles at Pella Corporation since 2015 including director of finance – enterprise vinyl; director of corporate accounting; senior manager – corporate accounting; finance manager – national accounts and senior internal audit manager. Prior to that, she served as vice president and senior internal audit manager at Wells Fargo and as ethics and compliance officer at DuPont. Flanders also had professional stops at Layne Christensen Company, H&R Block, HNTB and Deloitte and Touche.
Following the resignation of Karen Tumlinson at the college, Central’s corporate, board-elected treasurer Mike Van Voorst, a 1993 Central graduate and trustee, assisted in the interim. He will continue as treasurer.
“I am deeply grateful to Mike for the work he’s done in his treasurer role over the past few months,” Putnam said. “We are fortunate Mike is able to continue on in his role and I’m grateful for his trustee leadership and financial acumen. He’s been a tremendous asset to the college. As Mike and Kayla have worked together before, I anticipate a successful and seamless transition.”
In this new position, Flanders also brings service experience including the Marion County Development Committee, co-chair of a women’s leadership connection business resource group, Iowa Society of CPAs board and committee service, and board and past president of the Central Iowa Chapter of Institute of Internal Auditors. She has spoken at conferences on governance risk and control.
“I’m thrilled to bring my experience in finance, risk management, governance and control to Central College,” Flanders said. “This role represents a powerful intersection of mission-driven leadership and financial stewardship, and I’m eager to help advance Central’s strategic priorities with integrity and transparency.”
Flanders earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Iowa State University in Ames, her CPA designation and is a native Iowan. She and her husband Doug live in Pella with their two children, Ethan and Emma.
