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
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Dealing with natural disasters at UBC
Featured in University Affairs (UA), Hailey Maxwell, Manager of Emergency Management & Continuity Planning speaks about some of the programs and activities UBC offers to help students, faculty, and staff prepare for different types of emergencies.
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Keeping our campus warm
It’s not easy keeping a campus as large as UBC warm throughout the cooler months. Most buildings on the UBC Vancouver campus are connected to a centralized thermal energy system managed by Energy & Water Services. Kudos to our thermal…
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Finance & HR IRP Benefits Realization Management to cease monthly reporting in April 2023
Since 2020, Integrated Renewal Program’s Benefits Realization Management (IRP BRM) has been providing visibility into UBC’s journey towards achieving the benefits of implementing Workday HR and Finance. Now in its third year and with the current fiscal year coming to…
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Welcome Frank Laezza!
Today marks the official start of Frank Laezza’s tenure with UBC as our new Vice-President Finance & Operations. As a strong believer in connected leadership, Frank is looking forward to working with the VPFO team of 1400+ people in the…
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Daylight Savings time can affect workplace health & safety
A reminder that Daylight Savings Time is taking place this weekend on Sunday, March 12th where we “spring ahead” and advance our clocks forward by one hour. This means that we will all wake up one hour earlier than normal.…
People of the VPFO
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Josephine Shen joins the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team as a Financial Analyst
In her new role, Josephine will play a key role in developing the Strategic Initiatives’ multi-year forecasting model and maintaining various financial models (i.e. Contingency and PAEI) at UBC.
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Celebrating UBC VPFO’s long-serving member inductees in 2022
The VPFO team has a number of long service member inductees this year. This is an amazing personal accomplishment for the individuals and a true testament to their devotion to service at UBC.
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Holly Shepherd promoted to Director, Treasury
Holly Shepherd has been promoted to Director, Treasury with overall responsibility for overseeing tax, contracts, leases & licences, housing loans, payment card industry compliance, service levy and Treasury Accounting.
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Conor Cregg-Guinan steps into new role as Operations Manager, Custodial Services in Facilities
In his new role, Conor will oversee the Dayshift custodial operation and the utility worker teams, and be responsible for the maintenance and execution of the pest control, window cleaning and carpet cleaning contracts.
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Helen Shen joins Operational Excellence as Continuous Improvement Program Manager
Leveraging her robust experience in continuous improvement and problem solving, in addition to her passion for driving efficiency and collaboration, Helen will play a key role in enhancing and delivering continuous improvement projects across UBC.