Saint Peter’s University’s Frank J. Guarini School of Business has found its new leader.

Kimberly Reeve’s appointment as KPMG dean for the business school at the Jersey City institution was announced Aug. 1. She comes to the role from The King’s College in New York City.

Reeve assumes the post from John Hammett III, who has served as interim dean following the departure of Mary Kate Naatus. After serving in the leadership position for five years, Naatus was named as assistant provost and dean of continuing and professional education at Seton Hall University in December 2022. Hammett will return to and remain the associate dean for graduate studies at Saint Peter’s, a spokesperson for the school confirmed to NJBIZ.

At The King’s College, Reeve most recently served as dean of academic affairs and as associate professor of business and chair of the business and finance program.

According to Saint Peter’s, during her tenure there, she expanded the business and finance program into the college’s largest major as well as collaborated with other departments to revamp career services, resulting in a 100% placement rate for students in the business and finance program for the past two years.

Frederick Bonato, executive vice president and provost at Saint Peter’s, said the school was thrilled to welcome Reeve during its own time of “growth and innovation.”

“Dr. Reeve’s wealth of experience and expertise will certainly support the progress underway in our business school,” Bonato said.

With teaching and research interests including international business, decision-making and negotiations and nonprofit management, Reeve has published and presented research at the European Academy of Management, International Association for Business and Society and the Christian Business Faculty Association, Saint Peter’s said.

Additionally, her and a co-author’s work on nonprofit mergers was recently awarded the best overall paper at the International Academy of Business Disciplines.

On LinkedIn, Reeve celebrated her time at The King’s College while looking ahead to her next chapter.

“My time at The King’s College is coming to a close. It has been the best seven years of my professional life, and I am so grateful for my wonderful students and amazing colleagues,” she wrote. “In this last, tough semester, I added a couple more roles, including development director (had the privilege of helping to raise $1.2M in 12 weeks from our generous parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends), and most recently, interim provost (though I never did get access to the elusive all-faculty distribution list … ). And, it was amazing to be named faculty of the year by our student leaders. It’s sad to be ending with uncertainty over our future, but I know the legacy of King’s lives on in each student, faculty and staff member, alum, and parent. With all my heart, thanks for the memories!”

Before her time in academia, Reeve led development and marketing teams at several national and global organizations, Saint Peter’s said, which she parlayed into working as a management consultant.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in government and French from Colby College, her Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas and her doctorate in international business management from ISM. She also serves on the board of the Jeannette Rankin Scholarship Foundation.

In fall 2022, Saint Peter’s University had 591 undergraduate students and 976 graduate students enrolled.