Chris Cameron, the chief investment officer at AHIP REIT. (Image courtesy AHIP)

American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT-UN-T) has undergone two major changes to its senior management team, including the resignation of president Ian McAuley. AHIP also brought on Chis Cameron as its new chief investment officer.

McAuley resigned effective Feb. 1 to pursue other opportunities, the REIT said. No replacement has been named.

“It has been a privilege working with the AHIP team during a time of transformational change,” McAuley said in a prepared statement. “The company has exceptional assets and with the current renovation plans guided by Aimbridge‘s management, AHIP’s future is bright.”

McAuley joined AHIP in 2015 after serving as president and CEO of seniors housing developer, owner and operator Continuum Health Care Holdings Ltd., until its sale to Welltower Inc. Prior to that, he co-founded and served as president of Superior Lodging Corp., a hotel investment and development company.

“Ian has been instrumental in our growth and success over the past three-and-a-half years, with our portfolio growing from 73 to 112 hotels during his tenure,” said John O’Neill, CEO of AHIP, in a prepared statement. “We wish Ian well in his future endeavours.”

McAuley is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and a director of Northern Vision Development LP.

Cameron will lead the company’s investment and capital recycling strategies, including evaluating alternatives to redeploy capital and executing hotel transactions. 

“I’ve worked closely with Chris for many years, including when AHIP was founded nearly six years ago – as he worked with us during the IPO process,” said O’Neill in a release. “As a result, he is already intimately familiar with much of our hotel portfolio.”

Cameron is a CPA with 14 years of experience in the hotel industry, overseeing multiple disciplines including hotel acquisitions and dispositions, debt financing and operations. 

Ferguson now president at Strategic Group

Strategic Group, one of Canada’s largest privately held real estate companies, has promoted Randy Ferguson to the role of president.

“Randy’s exceptional understanding of this industry combined with his astute business acumen has been instrumental in growing our real estate portfolio and strengthening our internal operations,” said Riaz Mamdani, CEO of Strategic Group in the announcement. “As Strategic Group evolves, defining new roles is important to our culture of learning, growing and having fun.”

In 2012, Ferguson joined Strategic Group as chief operating officer. A seasoned real estate professional with 40 years of industry experience, he has held senior positions with major companies across Canada, delivering results in retail, commercial, multi-family and mixed-use spaces.

Ferguson has chaired the Calgary and Edmonton Real Estate forums and collaborated to advise in the creation of the Real Estate and Entrepreneurial Studies at the Haskayne School of Business.

Edwards becomes COO at SNC-Lavalin

SNC-Lavalin (SNC-T) appointed Ian Edwards its chief operating officer. All the company’s business sector presidents will now report to Edwards, who in turn reports to president and CEO Neil Bruce.

“Ian has led our infrastructure business since 2014. He has been responsible for the successful turnaround and transformation of the business and he is an accomplished leader with significant commercial expertise on complex contracts,” said Bruce in a release.

“Together, Ian and I will undertake a review of our operational delivery capability to ensure consistency in our approach to contract and risk management and to provide the service level to our customers for which we are well-known.”

Edwards has over 30 years of experience in delivering complex infrastructure projects across Europe and Asia.

He joined SNC-Lavalin in 2014 after six years in senior roles with the Leighton Group. In 2012, he became the managing director, Leighton Asia, India and offshore, where he led a diverse business of 20,000 employees in 14 countries.

Edwards holds higher and ordinary certificates in Civil Engineering from Lancashire University in the United Kingdom. He is also an incorporated member of the Chartered Institute of Building and a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, as well as the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. 

SNC-Lavalin is a global fully integrated professional services and project management company and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. 

Clarke becomes COO at Fairfax

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH-T and FFH-U-T) has appointed Peter Clarke its vice-president and chief operating officer. Clarke has been with Fairfax for over 20 years.

“Peter has done an outstanding job for Fairfax in all his numerous roles over the past two decades,” said Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax. “He will report to president Paul Rivett, and work closely with Andy Barnard, who oversees insurance and reinsurance operations as president of Fairfax Insurance Group.”

Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.