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
-
Video: Virtual Hot Lunch with John Metras
John Metras, Associate Vice-President, Facilities presented at St. John College’s Virtual Hot Lunch Series on January 27, 2021. If you missed the Virtual Hot Lunch with John, or would like to revisit the talk, the event can be viewed on the St John…
-
Public consultation for School of Biomedical Engineering
The proposal is for a 14,530 sq. m 5-storey academic building containing teaching, research, and administrative space for the UBC School of Biomedical Engineering. Two online public open house events will be held for this project on February 23, 2021.…
-
Public consultation for Hydrogen Fueling Station
A hydrogen generation and refueling station is proposed for Thunderbird Boulevard west of the Thunderbird Parkade. The project is part of the UBC Clean Energy Research Centre’s Clean, Connected, and Safe Transportation Testbed. The virtual public open house event will…
-
Pre-Approved Suppliers Now Available for Reusable Non-Medical Masks
In order to facilitate the sourcing and purchasing of masks at UBC, the Financial Operations team — in partnership with UBC’s Safety & Risk Services department — has secured non-exclusive contracts and fixed pricing with three qualified suppliers on an…
-
UBC Completes Initial Transitioning of Funds Through the Responsible Investing Strategy
As part of UBC’s commitment to a low-carbon, sustainable future and divesting the endowment, the university is pleased to share that $34M of endowment funds have been transitioned to fossil-fuel-free investments.
People of the VPFO
-
Nicholas Potovsky joins Infrastructure Development as the Accessible Buildings Planner
Co-created with the UBC Centre for Accessibility, this newly created role will help UBC develop accessibility design guidelines for new and existing campus buildings. Nicholas is a registered architect with over 10 years of experience in the design of new…
-
David Sequeira joins Custodial Services as Assistant Supervisor
In his new role, David will oversee the dayshift Custodial Services team and will work out of the Life Building. David comes to us from the Office of the Dean at the Faculty of Education with responsibility for Faculty-wide health…
-
Fabiola Ruiz-Aguilar joins Safety & Risk Services as Safety Advisor, Scientific Diving
In her new role as Dive Safety Officer, Fabiola is responsible for developing, strengthening and growing the Scientific Diving program in compliance with WorkSafe BC, Canadian Association for Underwater Science (CAUS) and CSA Ocean Sciences — after all the earth…
-
VPFO HR team update
Daisy Chan will be going on Maternity leave starting March 2023. During her leave, Kasia Burza will be temporarily promoted to an HR Advisor until September 2024, supporting AVPFO and Treasury. Alysa Garza will be joining as an HR Coordinator…
-
Silvia Magnano joins Treasury as Manager, Treasury Contracts & Real Estate
Silvia comes to us directly from the UBC University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO) where she was a Contracts Officer. Silvia brings both business and legal background to her new role. She was trained and certified as a lawyer in Argentina, where…