Kristi Simpson

Kristi currently serves as the Vice President Finance and Operations at the University of Victoria. Kristi has been with the University since 2003, and has served as the Director of Budget and Capital Planning and the Associate Vice President Financial Planning and Operations. Kristi enjoys working at UVic as she feels the organization is driven by positive values and that the work she does makes a difference.

Kristi initially found her way into economics after taking an introductory course as an elective. She enjoyed learning about how the economy, banking systems, and financial world in general worked. After taking her second economics course, she chose economics as her major.

After her BA in economics, Kristi decided to become a chartered accountant. Her time in economics ignited her passion in finance and helped put her on her current career path.

At the start of her career, the majority of her coworkers and supervisors were male. Despite supportive supervisors, Kristi often felt on the outside but used humour to bridge the gap! She has been able to observe the gender balance shift significantly during the time in her field.

When reflecting on her own experience as a student, Kristi’s advice for our current students is:

“Try out a lot of different classes, you never know where it may lead you.”