Dan Scarrow is the new president of Macdonald Real Estate Group in Vancouver. (Image courtesy Macdonald)

Dan Scarrow has taken over as president at Vancouver-based Macdonald Real Estate Group, the parent company of Macdonald Realty, Macdonald Commercial, Macdonald Property Management, and Platinum Project Marketing.

He replaced Lynn Hsu, who remains chairwoman and CEO.

“Dan has demonstrated strong leadership and business acumen, both in our operations in Canada and our successful office in Shanghai, China,” Hsu said in a release. “Many of Dan’s strategic decisions over the past 10 years have been instrumental in getting us to where we are today.”

Scarrow joined Macdonald in 2006 as a residential agent, selling over $50 million in his first year in sales. He then moved to commercial and in 2010, became vice-president of operations. From 2014 through 2018, he lived in Shanghai, opening and running Macdonald’s office there, the Canadian Real Estate Investment Centre.

Scarrow has a bachelor of commerce (honours) degree from Queen’s University and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

“I’m excited to continue working with our talented group of managers, staff, and agents in what is our 75th anniversary,” said Scarrow in the release.

Founded in Vancouver in 1944, Macdonald Realty is B.C.’s largest full-service, corporately owned real estate company with over 20 offices, 1,000-plus agents and staff in the province, and nearly $10 billion in annual sales.

M&M hires Edmonton multi-family team

Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, has added an experienced team of multi-family investment advisors in Edmonton. Bradley Gingerich, Paul Chaput, Bradyn Arth, and Jane Woertman, all formerly with CBRE Limited, bring what IPA calls “an outstanding track record and extensive relationships with major investors in the industry.”

“The addition of this experienced team of multi-family investment specialists deepens the firms’ North American presence and expands our platform to key markets across Western Canada,” said Jeffery Daniels, senior vice president, IPA Multifamily, in a release. “This team is known throughout Canada as one of the top multi-family investment sales teams in the country.”

Twenty-year CFRE veteran Gingerich joins as senior managing director. Chaput has 15 years of industry experience while Arth began his career with CBRE in 2010. Both join as senior vice-presidents. Woertman continues to manage the business operations.

“We were drawn to Marcus & Millichap’s IPA division by the level of specialization the firm brings to the marketplace and strength of its collaborative investment sales platform,” said Gingerich in the release. “The company’s recent acquisitions of respected firms in Eastern Canada further demonstrates the commitment to grow across North America.”

iA Financial’s Michel Tremblay to retire

iA Financial Group executive vice-president and CIO Michel Tremblay will retire on May 31. Tremblay joined the company in 2008. He was responsible for the management of general and investment funds totalling $89 billion, was head of corporate financing, and a member of the iA planning committee.

“Since joining our executive team in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, Michel Tremblay has put in place investment strategies leading to the sound management of our interest rate risk and the diversification of our portfolio into higher-yielding asset classes such as real estate and private equity,” stated Denis Ricard, president and CEO.

“Michel helped us to weather the storm after the crisis and he leaves us on solid ground to meet the challenges of the years ahead.”

Paul Beesley joins Crombie board

Crombie REIT has appointed Paul Beesley to its board of trustees.

Beesley most recently served as CFO of Hudson’s Bay Company in New York from 2014 until 2017. During that time, he participated in the creation of real estate joint ventures with Simon Property Group and RioCan REIT and the European acquisition of Galeria Kaufhof. He also led placement of a US$1.25 billion, 20-year mortgage on the ground portion of the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in New York City.

Prior to that, Beesley was executive vice-president and CFO at Empire Company Ltd., where he negotiated the acquisition of Canada Safeway in 2013, led the creation of Crombie in 2006, and served as an Empire-appointed trustee from 2009 to 2014.

He sits on the Board of Orlando Corporation and holds various designations including ICD.D, CPA, MBA from Saint Mary’s University, a B.Sc. from Dalhousie University and also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

“Paul brings a wealth of experience in finance, capital markets and real estate that will be invaluable in supporting Crombie’s current and future growth,” said Crombie chair Frank Sobey in a release.

Beesley fills the vacancy from the retirement of Debra Hess.

Nathan Thinnes moves to Western Wealth Capital

Western Wealth Capital has appointed Nathan Thinnes director of its U.S. west acquisitions. Thinnes, previously vice-president of acquisitions for ESI Ventures, will lead all WWC’s U.S. West Coast acquisitions.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Nathan’s quality and experience to join our team in order to increase the number of investment opportunities that we find that meet our disciplined investment criteria,” said Doug Mather, executive vice-president of acquisitions for Vancouver-based WWC.

WWC’s portfolio includes 39 multi-family rental buildings comprising 8,627 units.

Darren Cash joins Turner & Townsend

Leading professional services company Turner & Townsend has appointed Darren Cash as a director in its cost management team in Toronto. He’ll be involved in developing estimates that inform investment decisions, benchmarking, value engineering and auditing costs through construction to ensure schemes are delivered to budget.

In Canada, Turner & Townsend is a construction consultancy firm with other offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa.

Cash joins Turner & Townsend from BTY Group where he led its Eastern Canada operations in cost management, P3 advisory and project monitoring across complex real estate and infrastructure projects.

Cash chairs the RICS Ontario Chapter and is a member of the RICS Canada Board.

Sidewalk Labs hires former Toronto councillor

Former Toronto city councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon has been hired as the director of community for Sidewalk Labs in Toronto. Sidewalk, a Google sister company, is proposing to build a futuristic, high-tech neighbourhood along a portion of the Toronto waterfront.

McMahon, who represented the Beaches-East York Ward 32 in Toronto for two terms, retired from politics in 2018.

The Collingwood native and former English-as-a-second-language teacher is a graduate of Carleton University and the Institute of Corporate Directors at the University of Toronto.