Nazmin Gupta has joined BentallGreenOak as managing director, capital raising and investor relations. (Courtesy BentallGreenOak)

Groupe MACH has appointed Stephen Champion as executive vice-president, real estate and development, for Ontario and Western Canada. Champion has almost 20 years of experience in commercial real estate overseeing investments, development and management operations across all asset classes.

He holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia, a BA from the University of Washington and has also completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Champion previously served as executive vice-president, real estate development for SmartCentres REIT in Toronto; executive vice-president, real estate for Sears Canada; and managing director of corporate development for Colliers International in Vancouver and Seattle.

Champion will identify acquisition opportunities with high growth potential, in all asset categories, in Ontario and in Western Canada. He will also recruit a team to support the growth of MACH in these new markets.

MACH owns more than 150 properties and manages nearly 35 million square feet of commercial, industrial or residential properties in Quebec.

Gupta joins BentallGreenOak

BentallGreenOak announced Nazmin Gupta has joined the firm as managing director, capital raising and investor relations. Based in Toronto, Gupta will work with BentallGreenOak’s Investment Management Group to introduce its global products to Canadian investors.

She will help leadership in developing and raising capital for new funds, work closely with BentallGreenOak’s global capital raising team and provide support to investor relations. Gupta has a strong understanding of the Canadian institutional market and, in particular, the needs of investors.

Prior to joining BentallGreenOak, Gupta was a managing director with TD Greystone Asset Management. She spent nine years at Greystone in roles that included chief marketing officer, as well as SVP, real estate and mortgage product specialist. 

Prior to joining Greystone, Nazmin was director, new business at Morguard.

Courteau adds president title at Altus

Carl Farrell recently stepped down from the board of directors of Altus Group (AIF-T), and from his role as president. Robert Courteau, the CEO of Altus Group, has resumed Farrell’s responsibilities including leadership of the Altus Analytics business. 

Altus ”wishes Mr. Farrell well and expresses appreciation for his contributions as a director on the board and as part of the management team” says a release announcing the changeover.

Altus Group Limited is a leading provider of software, data solutions and independent advisory services to the global commercial real estate industry.

Courteau now heads up a company headquartered in Canada, with about 2,500 employees, and operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Malli joins WWC as CFO

Western Wealth Capital has hired Rob Malli as its chief financial officer. He will focus on strategic growth projects as WWC continues to invest in its corporate infrastructure.

Malli has extensive commercial banking experience which will assist WWC in sourcing and developing large equity partners. He also has advanced technology, human resources and strategic development skills.

Malli has more than a decade of experience as a CFO in the banking industry at VanCity; and in the transportation industry at TransLink and the Edmonton Airport Authority, where he was the CFO and worked in strategic development, leading financial planning and all corporate services functions including strategic real estate development and management.

To date, WWC has acquired 72 multifamily rental buildings, representing more than $2 billion and 15,750 total units. The company’s current portfolio of AUM includes 49 multifamily unit rental buildings totaling 12,196 units.

Scheetz managing director at Terra Firma

Real estate finance company Terra Firma Capital Corporation (TII-X) has hired Jeremy Scheetz as managing director. 

He’ll be involved in strategic growth initiatives, capital raising, sourcing new investments and general business development throughout the United States and Canada.

Scheetz also made a personal investment in the company with the purchase of 100,900 common shares.

“Jeremy has a strong reputation and proven experience in identifying and completing quality real estate transactions throughout Canada and the United States,” said Glenn Watchorn, Terra Firma’s CEO, in a release.

“I worked with Jeremy directly for over 10 years at Tricon Capital and have no doubt that he will become a valued member of our leadership team.”

Scheetz spent over 15 years with Tricon Capital Group, where he managed $1.3 billion of equity investments, including being directly responsible for approximately $650 million of new equity transactions. 

Most recently, Scheetz spent five years as co-head of Tricon’s San Francisco office.

Prior to joining Tricon in 2003, Scheetz worked for three years at HSBC Bank Canada.

Executive appointments at SNC-Lavalin

SNC-Lavalin (SNC-T) has made several appointments within its senior leadership team:

* Louis G. Véronneau, to the newly created role of chief transformation officer, charged with simplifying the company’s structure and processes, while supporting the new strategic direction with a focus on information technology and divestitures. Véronneau is a former investment banker, securities lawyer, general counsel and vice-president of strategy and corporate development at several large Canadian corporations, including Abitibi Consolidated and Bombardier;

* Jonathan Wilkinson, to the new role of president of infrastructure projects, charged with overseeing the run-off of the company’s lump-sum turnkey backlog. Wilkinson, currently president of infrastructure, remains a member of the executive committee;

* Dale Clarke moves, on an interim basis, to the new role of executive vice-president. Dale Clarke, currently EVP of strategy and growth infrastructure, will be responsible for growing the infrastructure services business in North America, including its infrastructure operation and maintenance, power, grid and industrial solutions, and construction and project management businesses.

Lane appoints Price as COO

CRE software provider Lane has appointed Rob Price its new chief operating officer.

Price brings 10 years of experience in software and technology development to Lane. In his previous role, Price was vice-president of delivery operations at Connected, a product development firm he helped to establish in Toronto.

At Connected, Price helped scale the company to over 160 full time employees in just three years while also being a recognized product development partner for clients including Bose, Harmon Kardon, Facebook, NFL, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Loblaws.  

Chang interim CFO at Regent Pacific Properties

Regent Pacific Properties Inc. (RPP-T) announced Rose Chang is its new interim chief financial officer. Chang has been the controller of Edmonton-based Regent since the company’s incorporation in 2007.

She replaces David Yu, who tendered his resignation. Yu, appointed CFO in 2010, was credited with making substantial contributions to Regent’s success. He will remain a member of the board of directors.

Colliers hires Smith to lead comms team

Pamela Smith has been appointed national director of corporate communications at Colliers Canada.

Smith brings more than 20 years of experience and passion as a communications professional to the role and will lead corporate communications in Canada for the global commercial real estate services and investment management company.  

Prior to joining Colliers in 2018, she oversaw corporate communications and issues management at B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation and has held senior communications roles with Intrinsyc Software and PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

She ran Elevated PR, a boutique communications consultancy, for over a decade, helping clients drive awareness and growth for social change.

Blanchard resigns from Frontenac board

Andrew Blanchard recently tendered his resignation as a director of Frontenac Mortgage Investment Corp. Blanchard, of Ottawa, resigned due to a conflict involving a new business interest.

Frontenac has assets under management of over $200 million and is managed by W. A. Robinson Asset Management Ltd.