I am very pleased to announce that Kristi Baxter will be joining the College as our Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) May 1, 2022.
Kristi has over 30 years of financial management experience as a CPA CMA and considerable time spent in supervisory and management positions. She is currently working with ATCO in Edmonton and will be relocating to Saskatoon, which she considers to be her home. Kristi will be at the College for the month of May to allow for onboarding and, until her relocation to Saskatoon, work in a hybrid capacity both at the College and remotely.
In the full-time, permanent role of CAO, Kristi will provide strategic and administrative leadership in the financial management and processes of the College, supervision of our operations staff and support to the Principal and committees for development and strategic planning.
We are grateful to have Kristi join our team – she will bring great expertise in both accounting and leadership.
I joined ATCO in 2017 as the Manager of Accounts Payable in their newly formed common services group. As part of this new position I was responsible for the integration of 7 AP departments which ultimately ended up in a group of 24 direct reports with people located in both Edmonton and Calgary. I was also instrumental in the implementation of an invoice imaging system in 2017 and part of the team that implemented the Oracle Cloud ERP system in 2018.
Prior to ATCO, I was the Manager of Accounts Payable at PotashCorp (now Nutrien). During my tenure at PotashCorp I held various positions and helped the company in the areas of finance, system implementation, and change management.
I am a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, where I majored in Accounting and Health Care Administration. I went on to get my CPA, CMA designation.
I grew up in Saskatoon. Most of my immediate family still lives in Saskatoon. I currently live in Edmonton and will be moving back to Saskatoon for this position.
When I am not keeping busy with my work, you can find me traveling, reading, hiking, golfing, or playing soccer. I enjoy learning, trying new things, meeting new people, and visiting new places.
I also enjoy volunteering. I received the CMA Saskatchewan Member Recognition Award in 2010 for my contribution to the Society of Management Accountants. One of my more interesting roles was as a member of the Canadian Soccer Finance Committee from 2008 to 2012. I currently volunteer as the President of my condo board and as a member of the Saskatchewan Soccer Audit and Finance Committee.
In recognition of the diverse requirements of our College, I am also pleased to announce that Leslee Harden, while retiring from her current position as CAO, will continue to support the College and our employees in human resource matters.
This new position of External HR Consultant will be a term appointment until June 2024. Leslee will continue to be involved in human resource policies, work with our pension, benefit and payroll providers, manage continuing education allowances and serve as a confidential consultant for the Principal, faculty members, staff and committee and Board members on human resource matters. She will also serve as Coordinator for the College’s Harassment Prevention Policy.
Dea. Dr. Richard Manley-Tannis
Principal