Brian Salpeter has been promoted to executive vice-president, development, at Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview.

He joined CF in 2015 as senior vice-president, development and has since worked on many of the firm’s most significant projects including Tour Deloitte, the three Tour des Canadiens residential towers, CF Promenades St-Bruno and the Rideau Registry, one of CF’s first residential rental projects.

In his new role, Salpeter is responsible for leading CF’s development team, including the strategic planning, financial returns and execution of its residential, industrial, retail, office and mixed-use development platform.

Prior to joining CF, Salpeter was a partner at a major Canadian law firm where his practice focused on all aspects of real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate/commercial law.

He is a graduate of McGill University, where he holds a bachelor of arts in economics and political science, as well as law degrees (BCL and LLB). He is also a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate.

Internal promotions at Ontario Teachers'

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan board has announced a series of internal promotions involving Stephen McLennan, Gillian Brown and Jonathan Hausman, as well as Nick Jansa.

McLennan has been appointed chief investment officer, asset allocation to oversee Ontario Teachers' overall asset mix to drive fund performance, management of portfolio risks, governance and investment practices. He had been acting head of investments since September 2023. 

McLennan joined Ontario Teachers' in 2003 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently leading the total fund management department. He also serves on the board of Cadillac Fairview, a wholly owned subsidiary which is part of Ontario Teachers' real estate portfolio.

Brown was named chief investment officer, public and private investments and is accountable for the execution and management of investments across public and private markets. 

Since joining Ontario Teachers' in 1995, she has held progressively senior roles, most recently as head of capital markets since 2018. She serves on the board of Canada Guaranty, one of Ontario Teachers' private capital portfolio companies.

Hausman has become chief strategy officer, a new role at CF, leading a cross-organizational approach to advancing strategic objectives. He will oversee Ontario Teachers' sustainable investing activities and continue to lead its global investment strategy (GIS) department. 

Hausman joined Ontario Teachers' in 2004 and led alternative investments and global tactical asset allocation before taking on the GIS role in 2017. 

Jansa, executive managing director, has been appointed to Ontario Teachers' executive team along with McLennan, Brown and Hausman. He joined Ontario Teachers' in 2020 and leads investment and portfolio management activities in the EMEA region, based in London.  

Habra becomes co-head at Partners Group

Karim Habra has been selected to join Swiss-based Partners Group as global co-head - with existing co-head and partner Mike Bryant - of the company’s $23-billion Cdn real estate portfolio and operations.

Habra has been serving as Ivanhoé Cambridge’s head, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and global co-head of strategic partnerships. He is to join Partners in March after spending over five years with Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Habra had previously held a series of increasingly senior positions at several firms including LaSalle Investment Management, JER Partners and GE Capital.

Partners is a global investment and management firm which also has regional headquarters in Denver and in Singapore.

Vindici, Vollenbruch promoted at Slate

Slate Asset Management has promoted Desmond (Des) Vindici and Sven Vollenbruch to managing director roles.

Vindici is based in Chicago and focuses on capital markets and CMBS for Slate’s U.S. debt platform, Slate Real Estate Capital.

Since joining Slate in early 2022, Vindici has been instrumental in cultivating and maintaining relationships with lenders, brokers and trading counterparties and helped facilitate originations and execution of capital market solutions and CMBS investments.

Prior to joining Slate, he held various roles at Wells Fargo and multiple commercial real estate development positions. He graduated with honours from Denison University and holds a bachelor of science degree.

Vollenbruch, based in Frankfurt, is responsible for the origination and execution of Slate’s European investments and leads the portfolio management and strategic oversight of Slate’s European funds and portfolios. 

Since joining Slate in 2018, he has helped transact on approximately 900 predominantly grocery and essential real estate properties across the continent.

Prior to joining Slate, he held an asset management position at Jones Lang LaSalle. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

Pereira elevated to MD, group head private equity at Fengate

Fengate Asset Management has named Jennifer Pereira managing director, group head of private equity.

Pereira was previously managing director, private equity, with Fengate.

Her expanded responsibilities include overall management of Fengate’s private equity funds, team leadership, and strategic planning and operations, and she joins the firm’s executive and investment committees.

Prior to joining Fengate, Pereira was managing director, private equity, with CPP Investments, leading coverage in the consumer sector. Prior to CPP, she was with the Boston Consulting Group where she advised a broad range of clients with a focus on financial institutions and consumer companies.

Simpson joins SensorSuite

Toronto-based SensorSuite Inc. has hired Palmer Simpson as vice-president, global head of strategic growth and sales. 

Simpson graduated with honours from the Queen’s University School of Business and expanded his global business exposure through an international business exchange at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. 

His professional trajectory has been marked by innovation and leadership roles at HqO, where he was a sales and partnerships leader across the Canadian and Eastern-U.S. markets, and at Manulife where he was heavily involved across Manulife’s global real estate and asset management portfolio.

SensorSuite is an energy management proptech company, focused on delivering building performance for small and medium-sized buildings.

Schaefer the new MD at Avison Young Regina

Avison Young has hired Linely Schaefer as its new managing director in Regina, succeeding Dale Griesser. 

Also joining the office are two agents, Hali Lawrence and Brian Tiefenbach.

Schaefer brings three decades of experience focused in retail and new development, representing local, regional and national clients. Among his clientele are Tim Hortons and A&W as well as financial Institutions.

Griesser is moving to a new role with Avison Young, focused on leasing and sales within the office sector, after two decades as broker and managing director.

Griffiths, McNally take senior roles at CLG

Condominium Lending Group has added Ryan Griffiths and Lyndsey McNally to its executive ranks.

Griffiths has been named managing director, bringing over 20 years of experience in commercial lending, including a decade working with condominium corporations.

Formerly the director of condominium finance at CWB Maxium Financial, Griffiths currently serves as the vice-president of CCI Huronia, chair of the CCI national finance and risk management committee, and the chair of the CCI Golden Horseshoe professional and business partners committee.

McNally has been appointed as a director, leveraging her 20 years of experience in condominium finance and operations.

She is also the president of the Toronto & Area Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute and subject matter expert for Humber College on financial management for condominiums

The firm also named Ryan Swain as a sales associate.