Welcome to the VP Finance & Operations portfolio
The nine divisions of the VPFO are responsible for the stewardship of UBC’s physical and financial assets, as well as safety and risk management for our university community.
We oversee a $3.98 billion budget, a $3.38 billion endowment, and all facilities on both campuses, as well as managing the university’s relationships with UBC Investment Management and UBC Properties Trust. In all the portfolio’s responsibilities, we are committed to the values of innovation, unity and accountability.

VPFO Strategic Plan 2024–2027
Having a strategic plan gives us a clear path, keeping everyone on the same page. Learn more about where we’re going next and how we plan to get there.
News from the VPFO
-
Annual Drinking Water Quality Monitoring program report is now available
This report re-affirms UBC’s commitment to deliver safe and high-quality drinking water, and outlines the Drink Water Quality Monitoring Program and its results for the year 2020.
-
Update on Air Canada Refunds for UBC
Air Canada recently revised their COVID-19 refund policy, and as UBC is a corporate account holder the university is centralizing this refund for members of our community who booked through the UBC Travel Program.
-
Asset Replacement & Improvements joining Infrastructure Development
The Asset Replacement & Improvement (AR&I) division, including the Transition Team and Construction Office, has started the process of joining with Infrastructure Development to form a new, unified, project delivery team for the Facilities Group.
-
BC Ministry of Advanced Education building auditors will be on campus starting June 21
BC Ministry of Advanced Education has contracted VFA Canada to audit 136 buildings on the UBC Point Grey campus starting June 21 to the end of January 2022. The last audit was undertaken in 2018.
-
Procurement Modernization update — Sharing our service delivery levels
Since Workday go-live our Financial Operations and Operational Excellence teams in the VPFO have been developing ways to share key metrics relating to service delivery that are pulled from UBC’s new HR and Finance system.
People of the VPFO
-
Ernesto Castano joins UBC’s Financial Operations group as the Associate Director, Procurement
Ernesto will play a vital role in leading the Procurement function to support our community in meeting their needs through the procurement and competitive bidding processes, leveraging Workday and Planon.
-
Joan Mar and Entela Ifti step into new positions in the Financial Planning & Analysis team
In their new roles, Joan and Entela will work with the Assistant Comptroller to lead the FP&A team and support our partners across the university. Joan Mar will be joining as Director, Financial Planning & Analysis on June 16, and…
-
Susan Johnson steps into her new role as Senior Manager, Privacy and Information Security Risk
In her new role, Susan will continue to oversee the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) process, including major projects such as the Integrated Security Program Student (IRPS) as well as the portfolio of operational PIAs and advisory services.
-
Norman Kotze joins the Emergency Management team as Associate, Emergency & Continuity Planning
In his new role, Norman will help lead continuity planning for the Vancouver Point Grey campus. Working with academic units, he will assist in the roll-out of our Continuity Planning Framework and the creation of Continuity Plans for faculties using a…
-
Christine Lin joins UBC as Tax Analyst
We are pleased to welcome Christine Lin as Tax Analyst, reporting to Holly Shepherd, Tax Manager effective May 16, 2022. Christine is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) with extensive experience in corporate and indirect tax within the oil and gas…