BGO has tapped its own property industry veteran, Michelle Brown, as the new head of its Canadian-focused real estate management business.  

The aim is to bring a growth mindset and potentially new technologies to the Canadian portfolio while the broader property market continues to face headwinds, the new head of BGO Properties told RENX this week in an exclusive interview.  

Brown will oversee a portfolio of 450 properties and 69 million square feet of space including office, industrial, retail and multifamily across the country. 

In her expanded role, Brown will be responsible for leading the operations and financial performance of BGO Properties in Canada and will contribute to the strategic direction of the business. 

"It really is important that we continue to foster the great relationships and property management services with our existing clients, first and foremost, and continue to grow their portfolios," Brown said. "But absolutely, we are in a growth mindset where we're taking advantage of internal opportunities to expand our portfolio, as well as a number of third-party management mandates that people are coming to us to entrust us with their portfolios and their assets.

"So, there's definitely an opportunity for us to grow this platform across Canada."

Brown and BGO Properties

Brown will help lead a team of more than 1,000 professionals in Canada.

BGO Properties is a provider of commercial property management and leasing services in Canada, with a broad range of real estate services. The team Brown will lead is the Canadian real estate property management and leasing division of BGO (Canada) Limited Partnership. 

"I've had a really fantastic 24-year career here at BGO, and had the good fortune and great opportunity to really work with a whole array of leaders and colleagues and people over my time,” Brown said.

Brown has held various roles at the firm including in: property management, construction management, development and building operations.

"Being able to grow a career here where I could experience sort of an array of positions really is very exciting for me."

'Really strong headwinds' 

Brown said the Canadian property market continues to face challenges, but those are starting to soften.

“With current economic headwinds facing property owners, the importance of cost control and the ability to execute on a full range of building operations strategies is where the rubber hits the road on managing buildings, to enable them to live up to their full potential," she said. "We're seeing some great opportunities to get back into the market and have people back in the office and back at properties which we manage."

Brown doesn’t expect her stewardship to result in any strategic shifts away from, or into, different types of properties.

"I wouldn’t say that one (asset class) deserves more attention than the other," Brown said. "I think that we're really good at all of the asset classes that we manage, which includes the office, industrial, retail and multifamily platforms.

“There are different opportunities in different markets and micro markets, but our doors open for business on all the asset classes that we manage."

Prop tech shows promise 

One area of growth could be more investment in proptech, including artificial intelligence, Brown said.

"We could leverage property technology in new and creative ways," she said. "So, from a proptech perspective, we certainly see some opportunities there to automate and use AI to gather data and help make decisions."

That could include reviewing work order systems to better understand tenant, resident and visitor behaviour and needs, Brown said.

"Where there's patterns in terms of the types of requests that people are making, where there are opportunities for us to become predictive in terms of things that we should be focusing on, or even ways to automate routine tasks like cleaning and security, there's potentially some ways to automate those services to make us more effective and in order to provide a higher level of service."

Early in 2024, BGO named Christina Iacoucci head of Canada and Canadian chief investment officer. Iacoucci said at the time that BGO had launched BGO Properties as a new branding strategy for its property management division to help people understand the firm provides the service. 

Brown's "exceptional track record"

“Michelle’s promotion to the head of BGO Properties is a testament to her exceptional track record, her collaborative approach, and the leadership capabilities that she has cultivated over her 24-year career with BGO," Iacoucci said in a release. "Her comprehensive understanding of our business will be an integral element to achieving our financial and service goals for our clients, as well as our strong growth objectives for BGO Properties and the overall firm in Canada."

With over 30 years of industry experience, Brown serves as a mentor and advocate for women within the firm, serving as the global lead for the BGO Women’s Network and a member of BGO’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity Executive Council.

Brown is also co-chair of Partners in Project Green, an internationally recognized community of leaders advancing environmental action and economic prosperity across the Greater Toronto Area.

BGO, the parent company, is an international real estate investment management advisor, real estate lender, and globally recognized provider of real estate services. BGO is a part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life.