A UVA Darden Faculty Legend’s Nudge Led to This Alumna’s 23-Year Run in Investment Management

It was midway through their Second Year at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and many in the MBA Class of 2003 were starting to get nervous. Internships had been hard to come by the previous summer as the U.S. economy climbed out of recession. Uncertainty loomed as the country entered a new war in Iraq, and job offers were hard to come by.

Kristina Alimard (MBA ’03) did what many Darden students before and after her chose to do: She went to talk to legendary Professor C. Ray Smith.

“I saw C. Ray in the hallway, and I said, ‘Hey C. Ray, I want to talk to you about my job search,’” Alimard recalled. “He said, ‘Oh, good idea, because I want to talk to you.’”

As it turns out, Smith already had a target in mind for Alimard. The UVA Investment Management Company (UVIMCO)—which manages more than $18 billion of endowment and other long-term assets for the University—had been searching for months to fill a position with little luck. Then-UVIMCO CEO Alice Handy and Smith knew each other well, and Smith facilitated the introduction that led to an offer.

“[Handy] hired me, and I actually started a month before graduation,” Alimard said.

This all came as a surprise for Alimard, who at the time wasn’t planning to go into investment management and had to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst designation as a condition of employment.

However, the twist of fate brought about by Smith’s intervention turned into much more than an offer for Alimard. It turned into a 23-year career. She rose through the ranks, and this summer retired as UVIMCO’s chief operating officer.

“My plan was to stay for three years because I was living outside of Richmond and getting married, and I thought my life was going to be in Richmond. Seven years later, I had two little kids and a third on the way, and I was really tired of the commute,” Alimard said. “So, I told my husband, ‘I can quit or we can move to Charlottesville.’ He said, ‘We’re going to Charlottesville.’”

A Career of Service

What drew Alimard to UVIMCO and kept her there so long was her ability to apply her business skills to serve a nonprofit enterprise that benefits society.

“I always say UVA does two things. They educate people, and they heal people because of the health system,” Alimard said. “Knowing that what I did all day long furthered that purpose always meant the world to me.”

It didn’t hurt that UVIMCO was full of “super smart people” and was a high-performing organization. In fact, according to its 2025 Investor Responsibility Report, endowment funds managed by UVIMCO have outperformed its median peer benchmark over the past 5, 10 and 20 years.

Alimard attributes UVIMCO’s investing success to patience and leadership, particularly its strong board governance policies and exemplary personnel. The value of patience and leadership was particularly clear during the most intense times of economic and market stress, like the global financial crisis of 2008–09.

“I witnessed how our CEO and board chair kept their focus in those times and did not change strategy or overreact,” Alimard said. “Times of market stress are when long-term investors can make a lot of money, because they don’t have to sell or buy anything if they don’t want to.”

A Lesson in Investing, a Lesson in Management

Alimard said the lesson to not panic and make knee-jerk reactions during times of crisis is one everyone should apply to investing and their lives.

Her time at UVIMCO imparted other lessons, too.

The No. 1 investing lesson she learned is how hard it can be to stick to your thesis when everything in the world seems to be moving against you. “When the market moves against you for a year, that’s fine. For two years, that’s hard. Three years is very hard. You get questioned by others and you begin to question yourself. You ask: Is there something fundamentally different about the world today, or will everything revert as you expected in years four through six?” Alimard said. “That Warren Buffett mentality is difficult to hang onto when you have to answer to your shareholders.”

As UVIMCO’s COO, Alimard didn’t just help manage an endowment; she managed people. Her years guiding the team provided another important lesson.

“Leaders are on a stage,” she said. “I didn’t learn that in business school, but you are on stage at all times, especially when the chips are down. In hard times, people are watching everything you do and listening to what you say, and what you do and say is so impactful to people in your organization.”

Looking Back and Ahead

Unlike many Darden alumni who might work with a few other alumni, keep up with classmates online and occasionally return to Grounds for reunion or a recruiting event, Alimard has maintained a unique daily relationship with the School. For 23 years, Darden was her client.

She served the School by helping manage the Darden endowment, which she considers the main way she has carried her Darden connection and experience with her through the years. Alimard received a scholarship to attend Darden, and she remained keenly aware that the Darden endowment included millions of dollars earmarked for future student scholarships.

“Every dollar that I could help them make furthered that circle,” she said. “It’s very humbling and very meaningful to how I wanted to live my life.”

With two decades at UVIMCO in the rearview mirror, Alimard has more time to think about what’s next.

She’s exploring board work and actively seeking opportunities to join boards that align with her experience and values. If the right opportunity arises, she hasn’t ruled out another full-time position.

But to figure out where her second act might lead her, she’s going to follow the same advice she would give today’s Darden students and young alumni. The same advice she followed in 2003 when C. Ray Smith presented an unexpected opportunity.

“Look for open doors and walk through them. Take a chance,” she said. “And if you don’t see an open door, and there’s a particular door you really want to go through, go kick it down.”