Maximilian Biagosch and Jon Webster have taken new senior executive roles with CPP Investments. 

Biagosch was appointed senior managing director and global head of real assets and Webster became senior managing director and chief operating officer.

Biagosch will also continue to be head of Europe and remains a member of the organization's senior management team. He joined CPP Investments in 2015 and was most recently senior managing director, head of Europe and direct private equity. 

Prior to this, he held senior roles at Permira Advisers LLP, and was an investment banker at Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas in London. Biagosch holds a master of laws from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munich and serves on the boards of Petco and BAI Communications.

Webster will also join the senior management team, taking responsibility for the organization's technology, data, investment operations, security and corporate services functions.

Webster joins CPP Investments from Boston Consulting Group, where he has been a managing director and partner and a member of the financial institutions and technology advantage practices, specializing in digital and technology-enabled transformations. 

Webster holds a bachelor of science in industrial mathematics and a Ph.D., mathematics from Loughborough University in the U.K.

Owen becomes president at Pure

Pure Industrial's David Owen has been promoted to president and chief operating officer after holding the COO’s position for the past three years.

Owen joined Pure in 2016 as an asset manager, before being promoted to vice-president, asset management, two years later and then to COO in early 2020.

Prior to joining Pure, he had spent two years at Strathallen Capital and also worked as an analyst at the Canadian Mortgage Capital Corporation.

Owen holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Toronto and is a CFA charter holder.

Slate Office appoints G2S2 nominees to board

Slate Office REIT (SOT-UN-T) and G2S2 Capital Inc. have agreed to appoint G2S2 chair George Armoyan and Jean-Charles Angers to the Slate Office board, effective immediately.

The appointments are part of a settlement agreement with G2S2, which had requisitioned a special meeting of Slate Office REIT unitholders to, among other items, elect new trustees. In light of the settlement, the REIT has cancelled the meeting.

Armoyan is the executive chair of G2S2 Capital and the chair, president and CEO of Clarke Inc. He has over 40 years of experience in real estate investing and development, M&A, and turnaround and distressed investing.

He is also founding partner of Creative Destruction Labs Atlantic, a non-profit organization focused on scalable seed-stage science and technology-based companies. Armoyan holds a bachelor of engineering from Dalhousie University.

Angers joined RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group in 1986 and was a managing director in Quebec from 2003 to 2022. He also boasts over 40 years of experience in the sale and financing of real estate businesses and properties.

Anger previously sat on the board of Institut de Développement Urbain. He holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University in civil engineering and an MBA from Western University.

OMERS promotes Ralph Berg to CIO

OMERS has promoted Ralph Berg, its current executive vice-president and global head of capital markets, to succeed Satish Rai as chief investment officer effective April 1. 

Rai will transition to an advisory role until his retirement from OMERS in late 2024.

Berg has a decade of experience at OMERS in a variety of leadership roles. As global head of capital markets, he has been responsible for public market investments which currently represent just over half of OMERS' net investment assets.

Previously, he was executive vice-president and global head of OMERS Infrastructure.

Rai has been with OMERS for eight years and in the CIO role since 2018.

“Satish has devoted his talent, leadership and expertise to building an extraordinary global investment strategy, brand and team during his tenure at OMERS,” OMERS president and CEO Blake Hutcheson said in the announcement. “We are extremely grateful for Satish’s contributions,and I look forward to his continued commitment and counsel that will benefit our members and their families over the long term.”

Concert finalizes new leadership structure

Concert Properties has finalized its new senior leadership structure with the appointment of two chief officers and five senior vice-presidents. Colleen Anderson was named chief marketing officer and Craig Watters named chief development officer earlier this month. 

In 2022, Andrew Tong had been named chief investment officer and managing director, Concert Income Properties, and Arif Rahemtulla named chief construction officer.

Aran Clarke was named senior vice-president, people experience and Adena Waffle senior vice-president, tapestry. Kelly Wilson was appointed senior vice-president, development, and Adrian Kozak senior vice-president, investments. 

Danny Difazio had been named senior vice-president, construction – east in 2022.

New Oxford chair resigns from BTB board

BTB Real Estate Investment Trust (BTB-UN-T) board member Daniel Fournier has resigned from his position, effective immediately, to become executive chairman of Oxford Properties Group.

Fournier had joined the board in June 2021 to support the development and growth strategy of BTB. 

"We are grateful of Daniel's involvement in developing and executing a strategic plan that enabled BTB to reposition its portfolio. Working closely with Daniel over the past two years, I am proud of what we accomplished as a team,” board chair Jocelyn Proteau said in the announcement.

Wetenhall to become Sun Residential REIT CEO

Toronto-based Sun Residential REIT (SRES-X) announced the retirement of Gordon Wiebe as chief executive officer, effective Feb. 28. He will be succeeded by Robert C. Wetenhall Jr., currently a member of the board of trustees. 

"Gord was instrumental in the formation of Sun in 2019, taking the trust through three rounds of financing, then acquiring our property in January 2020,” Dan Argiros, Sun’s board chair. “We are delighted that he will remain on the board of trustees as we continue to realize our potential as a REIT investing in the U.S. Sunbelt region."

Wetenhall is a Florida-focused real estate developer of luxury residential and multifamily properties located in Miami, Orlando and Fort Myers.

He is currently chief executive officer and president of two private real estate development companies, Blue River Capital and Miami Venture Partners. 

From 2018 to 2022, he was involved with corporate strategy, capital raising and investor relations as executive vice-president of capital markets for Five Point Holdings, LLC, one of the largest mixed-use developers in California. 

From 2006 to 2017, Wetenhall was a managing director in equity research for RBC Capital Markets covering home builders and building products. He previously worked at both Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers. 

Wetenhall holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and bachelor of arts, cum laude, in economics from Claremont McKenna College.

Lieberman joins Alliance REIT board

David Lieberman has been appointed to the board of trustees of Alliance REIT, effective immediately, as an independent trustee.

Lieberman's career in commercial real estate spans over 35 years and he is well-recognized as one of Toronto's top multiresidential brokers. 

He is principal and vice-president of the national apartment team, and sales representative in the multiresidential division of the capital markets group at Avison Young.

He is a member of the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Toronto Real Estate Board. He received his MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a BA from the University of Western Ontario.

Pachano heads Cree Development Corp.

The Cree Development Corporation/James Bay Native Development Corporation (CDC/SODAB) has hired George E. Pachano as its new chief executive officer.

Prior to his nomination, Pachano had been director general of the Whapmagoostui First Nation since 2018.

He also served as capital projects manager for the Cree Nation of Chisasibi for eight years, after 10 years as director at the Cree Construction and Development Company.

Pachano holds degrees in project management and business administration from Northern College, McGill University and Algonquin College. 

Kirchmair joins Terra Firma board, Patava departs

Terra Firma Capital Corporation (TII-X) announced the appointment of Mike Kirchmair as a member of its board.

Kirchmair is the chief financial officer of Great Gulf Group and brings 30 years of experience in the real estate sector, both corporate and global.

Kirchmair has a CPA designation and holds a master of business administration from McMaster University.

Terra Firma also announced the departure of Jerry Patava, director of Great Gulf Group, as a member of the Board. Patava had joined the Terra Firma board in 2017.