Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) (CAR-UN-T) has appointed James Lawrence as chief operating officer.

“James has an impressive track record of bringing together people, technology and processes to enhance performance and operational excellence. That experience is highly complementary to the breadth of expertise in place across CAPREIT’s senior leadership team,” Brad Cutsey, CAPREIT’s president and chief executive officer, said of the appointment.

Lawrence brings more than 25 years of real estate experience and leadership, most recently serving as chief operating officer for CBRE’s property management business in Canada, where he worked for almost 20 years. Previously, Lawrence worked at Deloitte and GE Capital Real Estate.

Lawrence holds a master of management and professional accounting from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and holds his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.

CAPREIT is Canada’s largest publicly traded provider of rental housing and owns approximately 45,400 residential apartment suites and townhomes, with a total value of approximately $14.4 billion.

Elysium names King as new managing director

When Harley Mintz and the management team at Elysium Investments decided to hire a new leader, one name kept coming up.

“The only person that I really wanted was Lorrie King. (She) and I were partners at Deloitte, since Deloitte merged with Mintz and Partners. I met Lorrie, that was 2008, and her credentials just tied perfectly into what we’re looking for,” Harley Mintz, co-chair of the Toronto-based real estate development firm Elysium Investments, said to RENX in an interview.

The former partner with Deloitte private audit and advisory, who spent almost 20 years at the consultancy before retiring earlier this year, initially didn’t have a plan when she left. “I’m not one that sits still very often, and so when Harley came to me with his proposition, I thought, ‘Wow, this is actually perfect,’” she said to RENX.

“Real estate is an area that I’ve spent most of my career in.”

Before Deloitte, King was executive vice-president with MyTravel Group for eight years, and was a partner with Arthur Andersen, where she spent 12 years.

FNPA welcomes Jamieson as inaugural CEO

The First Nations Procurement Authority (FNPA) has chosen a member of Six Nations of the Grand River, Darrin Jamieson, as its inaugural chief executive officer.

“Jamieson’s appointment represents a significant step forward for the First Nations Procurement Authority and for Indigenous economic reconciliation across Canada,” FNPA board chair Jody Anderson said.

Jamieson began his career in 1990 after receiving his business degree, working with the Community Futures program at Six Nations.

He was chief executive officer of the aa, and oversaw a portfolio that included hospitality, energy, construction, retail and real estate interests.

More recently, Jamieson was the Nation chief executive officer for his home community of Six Nations, followed by a return to the Ktunaxa Nation Council as chief administrative officer.

The FNPA is a First Nations-led organization that helps advance First Nations economic prosperity through procurement.

Real Matters chief financial officer departing

Real Matters (REAL-T), a network management services provider for the mortgage lending and insurance industries, announced that chief financial officer Rodrigo Pinto will be stepping down.

Pinto will continue as chief financial officer through Nov. 30, to support the transition.

“Rodrigo has been a valued member of our leadership team and has played an important role in strengthening our financial foundation, supporting the execution of our strategy and helping position the company for its next phase of growth,” Real Matters chief executive officer Brian Lang said.

Deeks joins Acquest Development

Acquest Development has tapped Charlie Deeks as its head of development and transactions Canada, Deeks announced on LinkedIn.

“I was attracted by their desire to establish a platform here in Toronto, their like-minded entrepreneurial spirit and overall quality of the individuals that work there. The opportunity to lead a new business is exciting,” he said.

Previously Deeks spent more than seven years at Pure Industrial, becoming its chief investment officer. He also spent time at Manulife Real Estate, Oxford Properties Group and Altus Group.

Hub International names Thompson practice leader for Canada

Insurance brokerage and financial services firm Hub International (HUBG-Q) has selected Sarah Thompson as national real estate practice leader for Canada.

Thompson will oversee the real estate practice’s strategic initiatives, focused on delivering services to Hub’s real estate clients in Canada.

She will also lead the development of proprietary risk and insurance products tailored to real estate owners, developers and operators.

Thompson joined Hub Coastal in April 2012 as underwriting manager, overseeing underwriting for the Strata insurance program. She went on to lead the division as manager from 2013 to 2017 and as associate vice-president from 2017 to 2019. In November 2019, she became chief marketing officer.

CoStar appoints Lefebvre as chief economist for Canada

Mario Lefebvre is the new chief economist for Canada CoStar Group, (CSGP-Q) an online real estate marketplace.

“Canada remains an important growth market for CoStar, and Mario’s deep understanding of both the Canadian economy and commercial real estate industry makes him exceptionally well positioned to lead our efforts,” Jay Spivey, senior vice-president of CoStar Analytics, said.

Lefebvre brings more than three decades of experience in economics, real estate research and public policy. Most recently, he served as advisory partner at Aviseo Conseil and since 2023, he has also served as a lecturer in the MBA program at the University of Sherbrooke. Before that, Lefebvre spent four years as regional director for Quebec at the Bank of Canada.

Since launching in Canada in 2014, CoStar has provided commercial real estate professionals with comprehensive property information, market intelligence and analytics.