Archbishop Appoints Brett Long, CFO

The Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA, Archbishop of New Orleans having recently appointed Mr. Dirk Wild as Secretary of Administration for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, has now appointed Mr. Brett A. Long as Chief Financial Officer of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Mr. Long’s appointment is effective October 1, 2026.

Dirk Wild was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the archdiocese in 2022.  This summer Archbishop Checchio reorganized the administrative structure of the Chancery Offices (Archdiocesan Curia) and appointed Wild to lead the Secretariat of Administration which includes the financial services, accounting, building and property management, insurance and other business offices of the archdiocesan administration as well as several archdiocesan-owned apostolates and agencies. As Secretary of Administration, Wild’s role includes the duties of Chief Operating Officer of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

After receiving the consent of the Archdiocese’s College of Consultors and Finance Council, Archbishop Checchio has appointed Brett Long to succeed Wild as Chief Financial Officer in the Secretariat of Administration.

“People in the local Church are out doing God’s work every day,” said Long when asked about taking on this new role. “I think there is a lot of opportunity to make a significant impact, and I felt the Lord calling me to offer my services, such as they are, to help the Church and the new Archbishop.”

Long comes to the archdiocese after spending several years as the Chief Financial Officer of his high school Alma Mater, Jesuit High School. In addition to his work at Jesuit where he led the annual operating and budgeting process and completed several strategic initiatives to update and enhance the financial systems there, Long worked with BOOT64 Ventures as a founding venture general partner raising $10 million for a seed-stage venture capital fund.
Having worked at Jesuit, Long thinks he has an understanding of what it means to work towards the common mission of the Catholic Church.

“Finance is a means to an end not the goal,” said Long. “I learned at Jesuit how to balance those needs. I have a sense there is a lot of work to do and know I don’t have all the answers. I ask that people pray for me that I can work faithfully to serve the local Church.”

Long brings with him an impressive resume of experience, having been a founding team member of multiple technology startups and advisor to several organizations in the energy, healthcare, education, and food-services sectors as well as managing his own consulting practice for over a decade. Long has several professional certifications including Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP), Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), all skills he believes will serve him well in this new role.

Long holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. He graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University, with a Bachelor of Arts quintuple major in Latin, Greek, Philosophy, English, and Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

A native of the New Orleans area, Long who is an avid fisherman and published poet, is married to his wife Amy and lives in Metairie with their four young children.

In addition to the appointments of Wild and Long, Archbishop Checchio has appointed Christopher Countiss Director of the Risk Management/Insurance Office of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Countiss takes on this new role after having served as Director of Accounting for the archdiocese.