Clayton Names Allison Speight As New Chief Financial Officer

CLAYTON, N.C. – The Town of Clayton has hired Allison Speight as its new chief financial officer, bringing more than 17 years of North Carolina local government finance experience to the rapidly growing town.

Speight began work Oct. 19, overseeing Clayton’s Finance Department, which handles budgeting, payroll, purchasing and long-term financial planning.

She has 22 years of accounting and financial leadership experience.

Most recently, Speight worked with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, assisting municipalities with financial system changes, employee training, annual audits, budgets and financial policies.

She previously served as chief financial officer for Wayne Christian School and held several positions with Wayne County government, including Finance Director.

While with Wayne County, Speight managed an annual budget of more than $220 million, supervised an 11-member Finance Office and oversaw payroll for more than 1,000 employees. She also worked on capital planning and financing.

Her experience included helping implement a new financial system across more than 20 county departments, replacing manual processes with electronic systems and providing training for more than 100 employees.

“I am both excited and honored to join the Town of Clayton and be part of a community experiencing such tremendous growth and opportunity,” Speight said. “After many years working in local government finance, I’m looking forward to bringing that experience to Clayton and working with the Finance team, Town leadership, and Council to continue building on the Town’s strong foundation and support a financially sustainable future.”

Town Manager Rich Cappola said Speight’s local government background was an important part of the town’s selection.

“Allison brings an impressive combination of local government finance experience, technical expertise and collaborative leadership to Clayton,” Cappola said. “Throughout the recruitment process, I heard consistently from respected professionals who have worked with her about her professionalism, knowledge and ability to build strong relationships. I’m confident she will be a tremendous addition to our team and will help position the Town well for the opportunities ahead.”

Speight earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from North Carolina State University.

She is a Certified Public Accountant and a North Carolina Certified Local Government Finance Officer.