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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Parveen Mann joins UBC as Director, Human Resources
We are pleased to welcome Parveen Mann to the VPFO as our new Director of Human Resources, reporting to Vice-President, Finance & Operations, Peter Smailes, effective June 21.
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VPFO Finance Realignments Following Workday Go-Live
Many members of our VPFO team played key roles in launch of Workday at UBC, and following the success of go-live we are ready to continue modernizing our core business processes, improve how we are structured, and transform the way…
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Leadership one-on-one with our Comptroller, Karamjeet Heer
As UBC’s Comptroller, Karamjeet is responsible for ensuring the university’s fiscal sustainability by providing financial intelligence and strategy. This week she has been featured in the UBC Today Leadership One-on-One interview series.
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Yvonne Kwok promoted to Communications Manager, Facilities and Safety & Risk Services
Yvonne Kwok will be expanding her role as Communications Manager, Facilities & SRS, effective Friday, May 21, 2021.
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Dawn Irmscher joins UBC as Director of Payroll
Dawn brings a wealth of experience in finance, operations, technical, and systems implementation to the university, and most recently served as the Director of Finance for the Sooke School District in Victoria, BC.