Cindy Bolton

Cindy Bolton is a visionary and purpose-driven leader with over 25 years of experience integrating strategy, finance and operations in global organizations, startups, and not for profits. A hallmark of her career has been advising and leading complex organizations in dynamic market settings.  

Currently, Cindy is the Chief Financial Officer of the Seattle Art Museum, the leading visual art institution in the Pacific Northwest, spanning 3 sites including a 9-acre outdoor sculpture park, a landmark 1933 art deco building, 240,000 square feet of class A real estate in downtown Seattle, and $375 million in net assets. Her responsibilities have included finance, treasury, investments, debt financing, HR, legal, risk management, real estate, facilities, and overseeing the museum’s earned revenue businesses (admissions, retail operations, private events, and foodservice) that comprise 20% of the museum’s annual revenue. 

Previously, Cindy worked for two technology startups as Head of Finance and VP of Finance & Sales Operations respectively, and at Microsoft for the 10 years prior to that as Senior Finance Director in the enterprise software business group and global sales organization. At Microsoft, Cindy managed worldwide product P&Ls ranging from $1-3Bn, and was CFO and Controller for Microsoft’s largest sales subsidiary segment. She was also a key member of the M&A deal and integration teams for 11 acquisitions at Microsoft (deal sizes ranging from under $5M to $200M+), and wrote the integration plan for her first technology startup when it was acquired by Priceline.

Cindy started her career in consulting, first at Accenture in their Systems Integration practice where she designed billing and customer care systems, and later at Marakon Associates with a focus on strategic portfolio assessment and value-based management where she advised global clients in financial services, consumer products, high tech, and the non-profit sector.

Experienced with board governance, Cindy serves on 3 boards. She is Board Vice Chair and Finance & Audit Committee Chair for AAA-Washington, the largest independent AAA club with 1.2 million members across Washington and Northern Idaho. She is also Audit & Finance Committee Chair for PCC Community Markets, the nation’s largest co-op grocer with sales of $450 million, and Board Chair for KEXP, an influential listener-supported radio station whose online and on-air service reaches over 2 million people per week and just hit 2 billion YouTube views.   

Cindy graduated summa cum laude from the Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and received her MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.