Warick Pond assumed the role of Director of the University Project Management Office (UPMO) at UVM on February 23 and reports to Kellie Campbell, Chief Information Officer. Pond leads the institution’s approach to delivering complex, high-impact initiatives. In this role, he also serves as Program Manager for Catamount LEAP, UVM’s enterprise-wide modernization effort focused on ERP transformation and Operational Excellence. 

The UPMO is designed to serve the entire university, providing the governance, structure, and delivery discipline needed to ensure that institutional priorities are executed effectively. Pond’s focus is on enabling clarity in decision-making, aligning investments to outcomes, and building the organizational capability required to sustain transformation over time. 

UVM’s mission and its connection to the state of Vermont were central to what drew him to the role. As one of the state’s most important economic and workforce engines, contributing more than $1.3 billion annually, supporting thousands of jobs, and preparing the next generation of leaders, UVM operates with a level of impact that extends far beyond campus. The university’s commitment to sustainability, research, and student success reflects a deeply integrated model of higher education and community engagement. 

Pond sees modernization not as a technology initiative, but as an opportunity to strengthen that impact. Drawing on his experience leading enterprise transformation across higher education, healthcare, and the private sector, he approaches this work with a clear philosophy: digital transformation should elevate human capability, not replace it. The most successful organizations are those that use technology to remove friction, unlock capacity, and allow people to focus on higher-value work. 

This perspective aligns with a broader shift happening across industries, where automation handles routine work, and organizations reinvest in their people to drive creativity, problem-solving, and innovation. At UVM, that means ensuring that systems and processes support students more seamlessly, enable faculty research more effectively, and empower staff to operate with greater clarity and efficiency. 

Throughout his career, Pond has led large-scale portfolios, implemented enterprise systems, and built governance models that bring together diverse stakeholders to make better, faster decisions. He has worked closely with executive leadership to prioritize investments, manage risk, and deliver measurable outcomes across complex environments. 

At UVM, in his first-year, he is focusing on establishing a strong, trusted UPMO that operates as a strategic partner to the university, improving visibility into the portfolio, strengthening governance and prioritization, and ensuring that Catamount LEAP delivers tangible progress. Equally important is building change management capability across the institution so that transformation efforts are not only implemented but fully adopted and sustained. 

Outside of work, Pond spends time hiking and paddleboarding with his family, and he continues his passion for music as a songwriter and teacher, an outlet that reinforces creativity, discipline, and connection, all of which inform his leadership approach. 

At its core, his work is centered on a simple objective: helping UVM translate its mission into execution, so that its impact on students, research, and the state continues to grow in meaningful and measurable ways.