Royal Roads University has a new chief financial officer and vice president and she comes with a pretty impressive resume.
Cheryl Eason returns to B.C. after spending several years in the United States, where she directed the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Serving as chief financial officer since 2012, she was responsible for financial accounting and reporting for a pension fund worth more than $300 billion, an operating capital budget of roughly $1.8 billion and approximately 2,800 employees. It is the largest public pension fund in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.
But it wasn’t that long ago that Eason herself was sitting in one of Royal Roads’ classrooms. She’s an RRU alumna who earned her MBA in executive management in 2011.
“I’ve been here for eight weeks and two years,” Eason joked. “It’s just a thrill to come back to my alma mater … It’s a great place to grow on a personal and professional level.”
After experiencing Royal Roads’ teaching model first hand, Eason jumped at the opportunity to return to the Island and give back to an organization she credits for helping to shape her career. Even though she had worked at the executive level for roughly a decade before earning her MBA – including three and-a-half years as a v.p. at B.C. Pension Corp., her experiences through that program gave her the confidence to take on the position in California.
“It’s a dream come true to get to work in a castle,” she said of her new digs in Colwood. “I’ve asked people if you ever get tired of this view and you don’t.”
Eason replaces Dan Tulip, who is retiring in June after 15 years with the university.