P. Jane Gavan has been appointed to the board of directors of Colliers International. She is the president of asset management at Dream Unlimited. (Courtesy Colliers)

Colliers International (CIGI-T) has appointed P. Jane Gavan to its board of directors.

Gavan is president, asset management of Dream Unlimited (DRM-T), one of Canada’s largest real estate companies with approximately $9 billion of assets under management. 

She brings more than 30 years of experience in the industry, having progressively risen through the management ranks since joining Dream. She served as CEO of Dream Global REIT from its 2011 IPO until its sale to Blackstone in December 2019.

“I am honoured to have been asked to join the Colliers board and excited to play a part in the growth strategy of a truly global company with a long history of success, strong leadership team and enterprising professionals keenly focused on client success,” said Gavan in a release.

Prior to joining Dream, Gavan acted as legal counsel for numerous companies including those in the real estate industry. She began her career in private law practice with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP, specializing in real estate and corporate finance.

Gavan served on the board of directors of the Women’s College Hospital Foundation and is on the Patron’s Council for Community Living Toronto.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Jane to our board of directors,” said Jay Hennick, global chairman and CEO of Colliers, in the release. “Jane is a distinguished leader with an extensive track record of success, deep institutional knowledge and global perspective on the real estate and REIT sectors.”

Botting joins Avison Young

Sheila Botting will join Avison Young as principal and president, professional services, Americas, effective May 4. Botting’s role will be to build a professional services practice across the Americas.

Sheila Botting will join Avison Young as principal and president, professional services, Americas. (Courtesy Avison Young)

“Sheila is a dynamic leader with tremendous experience in growing teams who will enable us to deploy deeper insight into real estate decision-making to serve clients,” said president and CEO Mark Rose in a release.

The practice will enable more integrated partnerships to help Avison Young’s professionals advise on real estate strategy, implementation and management, informing and complementing the firm’s brokerage teams.

“The entire market – including investors, owners, occupiers, developers and other participants – want insights into cities, people and workplaces across property types to help address their business strategies,” said Botting in the release.

The goal will be “to spark provocative discussions and solutions about how to use real estate as a tool to achieve business goals.”

Botting joins Avison Young from Deloitte LLP, where she was senior partner and Canadian real estate leader and a member of its global real estate executive team. She also previously held executive positions with Cushman & Wakefield Americas.

Botting is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Management Consultants.

She has held numerous board roles, including NAIOP and CREW, and earned multiple awards including CREW Network’s Most Distinguished Women Award and the Canadian Executive Network WXN’s 100 Most Powerful Women Award.

Mennie, Childe promoted at Manulife

Manulife Investment Management has announced changes in its global environmental, social and governance teams. Among the appointments Peter Mennie is the new global head of ESG research and integration, and Margaret Childe the head of ESG for Canada.

Mennie will report to Christopher Conkey, Manulife’s global head of public markets. Based in London, Mennie has been with Manulife for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was global head of investment risk management and quantitative analytics, which he will continue to oversee.

Mennie hired and led the ESG team from 2014–’16. Manulife’s ESG capabilities expanded under his guidance and he will now directly lead the team again.

Childe was most recently Manulife’s Canadian director, ESG integration and research.

She joined the firm in 2017 to work with the Canada-based investment teams on ESG integration. She also works on global ESG integration projects and methodologies for ESG product development.

Childe brings over 15 years of experience to the role, having started in capital markets before specializing in sustainable investing over the last eight years. She is based in Toronto and will report directly to Mennie.

Lum moves to KingSett Capital

Jeffrey Lum is the new managing director, residential mortgages, at KingSett Capital. (Courtesy KingSett)

Jeffrey Lum is the new managing director, residential mortgages at KingSett Capital. “While Jeff has joined us amidst the lockdown, he is actively engaged in our mortgage team,” says an announcement on KingSett’s LinkedIn feed.

Lum has 25 years of experience in the field, having held progressively more senior positions at CIBC World Markets, Scotia Capital, MCAN Mortgage Corporation and, most recently, BMO Capital Markets. 

He holds a MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa.

Janson departs Firm Capital board

Robert Janson has resigned from the Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust board of trustees. Janson joined what was formerly Firm Capital’s board of directors in 2016 and was involved in Firm Capital’s transition from a corporation to an investment trust.

In announcing his resignation, Firm Capital says Janson joined the board as a representative of the corporation’s largest holder of convertible debentures. It also states he had always intended to resign once the transformation was complete.

Vezina Bridgeport’s senior operations manager

Ottawa-based Colonnade BridgePort promoted Tim Vezina to the position of senior operations manager. He will oversee the building operations staff and help ensure the efficient delivery of all property operational programs.

Vezina has over 30 years of hands-on experience in residential and commercial real estate. He joined the company, then known as Colonnade, in 2007 as a building operator. In 2015, Vezina was named building systems manager, a role which has expanded with the increased emphasis on building automation and ‘smart buildings’.

Vezina is an honours graduate from Algonquin College, having acquired the Building Environmental Systems Operator Class I and Building Environmental Systems Operator Class II certifications.

Four resignations from COA board

In the wake of “conflict of interest and governance concerns,” the Condominium Authority of Ontario announced the resignation of four board members. In a statement the authority said its chair had recommended one board member consider stepping down.

During an April 8 meeting, vice-chair Frank D’Onofrio and directors Tom Wright, Armand Conant and Genevieve Chornenki all decided to step down and their resignations were accepted.

In the statement, the CAO said it continues to operate with a quorum of members, and is seeking replacements.

Does your firm have an executive announcement to make? Let RENX know and we’ll include it in an upcoming People Space column. Send a release or email containing the details to donwilcox@renx.ca. If desired, please also include an image with your submission.