Brian Rosen has been named the COO at Colliers Canada. (Image courtesy Colliers)

A dispute about the composition of its board of directors has led to a change in the chairmanship at Invesque Inc. (IVQ-U-T). CEO Scott White has added the job of chairman to his titles, replacing Rick Turner who has resigned. 

“Rick Turner indicated that he resigned as a result of differences in opinion at the board level regarding the process around determining the composition of the board,” says a release announcing the change. “Certain of the company’s largest shareholders had previously notified management that they would not be supportive of the re-election of certain directors at the next annual meeting.”

Lis Wigmore also resigned from the board and will be replaced by Charles “Chuck” Herman as lead independent director.

“I truly appreciate all the work and guidance Rick and Lis have contributed in the board room,” White said in the release. “I look forward to joining the board and moving forward to execute on our strategy.”

White has been CEO of Invesque since January 2017. Under his leadership, the company has nearly tripled its assets since inception.

Herman spent 15 years in various roles at Welltower Inc., including chief investment officer, executive vice-president, and president-seniors housing and post acute.

Invesque is a health-care real estate company invested in a diversified portfolio of income-generating properties across the U.S. and Canada.

Rosen named Collers Canada’s first COO

Brian Rosen has been named chief operating officer of Colliers Canada (CIGI-T),  a newly created position for the Canadian business.

Rosen brings a wealth of senior leadership experience from Iron Mountain, a global leader in storage and information management services. After working in increasingly senior roles with the firm, Rosen most recently served as senior vice-president and general manager for Iron Mountain Canada.

In his role as COO, Rosen will oversee development of organizational priorities to drive continued growth and profitability throughout Colliers’ Canadian business.

“As an innovative and accomplished leader, Brian brings real estate experience, fresh ideas from a related industry and the vision necessary to navigate that change,” said David Bowden, CEO, Colliers Canada, in the release.

Rosen holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Rosen is based in Colliers’ Toronto Downtown office.

Colliers is a real estate services and investment management company with operations in 68 countries and 14,000 employees. In 2018, corporate revenues were $3.3 billion including affiliates, with $26 billion of assets under management.

New marketing head at AY . . . 

Molly Kelly has joined Avison Young as global chief marketing and communications officer, one of two recent appointments by the real estate services firm. She will serve on AY’s executive committee and corporate leadership team.

Retail specialist Cameron Lewis has also become a principal of Avison Young and joined its capital markets group. His mandate is to help grow retail investment sales service-line coverage across the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario.

Kelly brings to Avison Young a broad background in brand positioning, ranging from mergers and acquisitions, to initial public offerings, to the creation and integration of a global brand. 

She was formerly global chief marketing officer at JLL, instrumental in the creation of Jones Lang LaSalle following the merger of LaSalle Partners and Jones Lang Wootton in 1999.

Her responsibilities included the integration of multiple global brands into a single cohesive real estate services brand.

“We are thrilled once again to be partnering with Molly to grow our differentiated global real estate services company,” said Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young, in a release. “Molly is one of the industry’s premier marketing and communications leaders and her influence on our global strategy is immediate.”

Rose and several other AY executives previously worked with Kelly at JLL.

The announcement comes as AY completes its acquisition of U.K.-based GVA, which expands the company to 5,000 real estate professionals in 120 offices in 20 countries.

“I am excited to join Avison Young at such a dynamic stage in the company’s growth to further build and shape what is already a robust, differentiated brand,” says Kelly, who is based in Jackson, Wyoming.

. . . And Lewis joins AY’s capital markets group

In Toronto, Lewis will serve new and existing clients and liaise with the capital markets group on the acquisition and disposition of shopping centres nationwide.

“It’s great to have Cam as part of Avison Young’s Canadian team,” said Mark Fieder, AY principal and COO of Canadian operations, in a release. “His nationwide experience in identifying opportunities and negotiating transactions for all types of open and enclosed retail formats will be invaluable in providing transaction services tailored to existing and new clients’ needs.”

Lewis has specialized in retail properties for 27 years with Colliers International and, most recently, as a director at RBC Capital Markets. He has been involved in the sale of more than 200 properties with a total transaction volume exceeding $10 billion.

Mirza appointed to City Office REIT board

City Office REIT (CIO-N) announced the appointment of Sabah Mirza to its board of directors. She has more than 20 years of legal, corporate governance and securities experience, most spent as in-house counsel across diverse industries, including aviation, defence, travel and leisure.

Mirza is executive vice-president, business affairs at Sunwing Travel Group, where she was key to the establishment of Sunwing’s hotel division in 2010. It now comprises over $700 million in real estate assets in 10 countries.

Previously, Mirza was vice-president & general counsel at a charter airline, and vice-president and division counsel at a subsidiary of L-3 Technologies. She holds law degrees from the University of Ottawa.

“Sabah has tremendous experience,” said board chairman John McLernon in a release, “and her diverse expertise in both legal and operating capacities brings a unique and additive perspective to our board.”

City acquires, owns and operates high-quality office properties in the Southern and Western United States. It owns or has an interest in 5.7 million square feet of office properties.

Schleich new CEO at Leis

Leis Industries Limited appointed Andreas Schleich chief executive officer and to the company’s board of directors. The appointment comes after the resignation of Michael Konnert as director, president and chief executive officer.

Schleich brings 20 years of management expertise in the IT and marketing industries to the role, and served as executive in multi-cultural and global environments in Germany, Denmark, Mexico and Canada. He holds a BBA in marketing and international business.