Setareh Pouraghabagher

Setareh Pouraghabagher is an Adjunct Professor in the Accounting Department of the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly, teaching courses in Financial Accounting and Corporate Governance. She combines her extensive professional experience in financial services and corporate leadership with her academic role, mentoring students on career readiness and serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council.

• Education: Graduated from Cal Poly in 1994.

Professional Experience: With a 30-year career in public and private companies across insurance, banking, and technology, she has held executive roles including CFO, COO, and CAO. Currently, she serves as an independent board member for organizations like PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust and Frontier Medicines.

Research Interests: Focus on corporate governance, financial reporting, and strategic business transformations, informed by her hands-on leadership in complex regulatory environments and mergers & acquisitions.

Board Leadership: Chaired Audit and Risk Committees, with expertise in Compensation and Governance Committees. Previously served as North American executive chair for a public company’s diversity council.