David Dunn has been named the new CEO of Slate Retail REIT. (Courtesy Slate)

Slate Retail REIT (SRT-UN-T) has promoted David Dunn from chief operating officer to chief executive officer effective March 12, when current CEO Greg Stevenson is scheduled to retire.

Dunn has worked closely with Stevenson since 2015, overseeing asset management, property management and leasing. He has also been instrumental in the execution of the REIT’s strategy.

Dunn joined Slate Asset Management as a director in 2015 and previously worked as a broker and portfolio manager at CBRE.

“David’s deep knowledge of our business and the real estate industry will serve the REIT well as we pursue our strategy and growth initiatives,” said Thomas Farley, chairman of the board of trustees, in the announcement. “We will miss Greg, are grateful for his contributions and wish him well.

“We are thankful to him for grooming a successor from within Slate Asset Management who has been so helpful in developing our culture. As a result of Greg’s contributions, the REIT’s operations, balance sheet and portfolio are in the best position they have been since inception of the REIT.”

“I am grateful to Greg for his guidance and leadership over the last five years and for laying the foundation for a best-in-class team that is positioned for future growth,” Dunn said in the prepared statement.

SNC-Lavalin appoints CFO, new directors

SNC-Lavalin (SNC-T) named Jeff Bell its new CFO effective April 14 as a continuation of sweeping changes at the senior leadership level.

Bell is a former group CFO with energy services firm Centrica plc. The native of Barrie joined SNC-Lavalin as executive vice-president on Feb. 11. He will work with current CFO Sylvain Girard to ensure a smooth transition.

“I am very pleased to welcome Jeff Bell as CFO at a pivotal time for SNC-Lavalin,” said Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO, in a release. “SNC-Lavalin is focused on growing its high-potential engineering services business in core geographies around the world, an objective to which Jeff is uniquely suited.”

The firm also announced the nominations of Gary C. Baughman, Chris Clark and Mike Pedersen to the board of directors. They will stand for election by shareholders at the AGM on May 7.

Current board members Jacques Bougie, Catherine J. Hughes, Alain Rhéaume and Eric D. Siegel are stepping down. 

Baughman brings extensive international engineering, construction, operations, maintenance and environmental industry experience, most recently as chair and CEO of Texas-based APTIM, a global design, construction, environmental remediation and maintenance service supplier.

Clark is the former PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada CEO and has significant corporate board experience. He sits on the board of Choice Properties REIT, Air Canada and Loblaw Companies, and is a former board member of Hydro One, Brookfield Office Properties and IGM Financial.

Pedersen brings extensive experience in leadership roles at large financial services institutions, including as CEO of TD Bank Group’s U.S. retail and commercial banking business from 2013 to 2017.

Rivett retiring as Fairfax president

After 17 years of service, Paul Rivett has decided to retire as president of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH-T). Rivett will continue as the chair of certain Fairfax initiatives, including Fairfax Africa and Recipe Unlimited. 

“Paul told me recently that for family reasons, he wanted to retire as president of Fairfax. It was with great sadness that I accepted his decision,” said CEO Prem Watsa in a release. “For 17 years, Paul has given his all and has been instrumental in our success over that time. I have had the pleasure of working very closely with Paul all those years and I will miss him greatly.”

“Working with Prem and the entire Fairfax family has been a joy, an honour and a privilege,” Rivett said in the release. “It has been incredible participating in helping grow the company over the years, working with such talented people and assisting other organizations and individuals along the way.”

Fairfax is a holding company engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management.

Newmark Knight Frank appoints two in Edmonton

Newmark Knight Frank has added two industry experts, Terrance Kong, B.Comm., AACI, P.App., and Tyler Fedun, B.Comm., AACI, P.App as vice-presidents in the firm’s valuation and advisory practice at its Edmonton office.

“In the wake of NKF V&A’s growth in the United States, our Canada practice is following suit, most recently with the establishment of the Edmonton office, with two very experienced valuation professionals,” said market leader and senior managing director Liam Brunner in a release.

Throughout his 14-year career, Kong has specialized in real estate valuation and advisory in Edmonton and Northern Alberta. He is experienced in cash-flow modelling and analysis of investment-quality assets, including complex assignments for financial reporting of institutional portfolios.

With 12 years of experience in CRE valuation and advisory, Fedun is known for his expertise for various asset types including retail petroleum, multifamily, industrial and land.

The duo joined NKF from Cushman & Wakefield.

Kalyk to replace Reid as Firm Capital trustee

Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust (FCA-UN-X) says Scott Reid will resign as a trustee and pending approvals will be replaced by Valentina Kalyk.

Reid has been a member of the board of trustees and a director of its predecessor entity, Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp., since July 2016. He joined the board while it was undergoing a restructuring and provided “excellent advice and oversight” during the process, the firm says in the announcement.

Kalyk brings over 20 years of capital markets experience to Firm. Until her recent retirement, she spent 15 years with Canaccord Genuity as a managing director and senior member of the institutional equity sales team, focused on REITs and real estate. 

Hurst takes new role at CFO Capital

CFO Capital has hired Ian Hurst to fill the role of SVP development for Atlantic Canada. Hurst has over 40 years of experience in hospitality. 

A graduate of Ryerson University Hotel Management, he spent 22 years with CP Hotels (now Fairmont Hotels) and followed that with years of independent consulting in hospitality, including development, branding, operations and financing.

Meyer executive board chair at Terra Firma

Real estate finance company Terra Firma Capital Corporation (TII-X) announced Y. Dov Meyer as executive chairman of the board of directors. Meyer had been executive vice-chairman and is also Terra Firma’s former CEO.

He replaced John Kaplan, who has been chairman since 2013. Kaplan also stepped down from the board of directors.

“During (Kaplan’s) tenure as chairman, our loan and mortgage investments grew from just US$34 million to approximately US$140 million and the equity of the company increased by almost four times,” Meyer said in the release. “During this period, we also transitioned the company to focus primarily on the U.S. market which requires a different skill set and network.” 

Laguerre joins Genworth board

Genworth MI Canada Inc. (MIC-T) announced Martin Laguerre has been appointed to the board of directors, replacing Alan Norris. Laguerre is managing director and group head structured finance at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Prior to joining CDPQ, he held senior positions at Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and General Electric.

Leaguer is a CFA Charterholder, holds an International Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.