Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has appointed Marlene Puffer as its chief investment officer, effective Jan. 30. 

Puffer is an accomplished investor and leader with over 25 years of experience in both cross-asset class portfolio management and liability-driven investment.

Puffer brings with her a wealth of experience in traditional and alternative investments, capital markets and pension governance. She has held CEO, senior roles and board positions at major Canadian pension funds and investment dealers. 

Most recently, she was the president and chief executive officer at CN Investment Division, accountable for the investment management and organizational oversight of the CN Pension Trust Funds. 

She is the former vice-chair of the board of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and past president of Women in Capital Markets. 

Puffer is a CFA, and received her Ph.D. in finance and statistics from the Simon Business School, University of Rochester.

With Puffer's appointment, Sandra Lau, who most recently served as interim CIO, has decided to leave AIMCo. Lau began her career at AIMCo in 1999, moving into progressively more senior positions.

Prior to her role as co-CIO and head of public investments, she led global fixed income investments with record top quartile performance for over a decade.

Murray takes senior role at Ontario Teachers'

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board has named Anna Murray senior managing director and global head of sustainable investing.

Murray has extensive experience leading and developing sustainability strategies. Most recently, she was the global head of ESG for Sun Life Capital (SLC) Management.

She also worked as global head of ESG with BentallGreenOak, SLC Management's real estate investment manager.

Murray is co-chair of the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) Real Estate Advisory Committee and of the environmental committee at the Pension Real Estate Association. She also serves on the board for the Responsible Investment Association and the Canada Green Building Council. 

She has been named one of the Top-100 Women in Canada by the Women's Executive Network, Top-40 under 40 and one of Canada's Clean50, which recognizes sustainability leaders. 

She holds an international MBA from the University of British Columbia and a law degree from York University with a focus on environmental justice and sustainability.

Murray also recently served as a trustee with True North Commercial REIT, but will resign from that role as of Jan. 13.

Miller becomes first COO at Couche-Tard

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD-T) announced Alex Miller will become its first chief operating officer effective Jan. 2. He will oversee North American, European and Asian operations. 

Miller will be responsible for translating the strategic vision of the business into executable plans and activities to drive revenue growth and operating efficiency while controlling expenses.

Miller, who is currently the corporation's executive vice-president, operations North America and global commercial optimization, brings over 25 years of management experience in the retail fuel/convenience store industry including over 10 years at Couche-Tard.

Chhabra named CFO at Altus Group

Altus Group (AIF-T) has appointed Pawan Chhabra as chief financial officer. 

Chhabra brings over 25 years of financial experience from publicly traded global technology companies.

With a deep background in SaaS industry business operations and strategy, his experience spans core financial functions across P&L management, financial planning and analysis, capital allocation and acquisition integrations. 

He joins Altus from ADP, where he held several senior finance roles since 2011, most recently serving as the CFO of worldwide sales and marketing.

Chhabra holds an MBA with a concentration in strategy and a master’s degree in finance, both from the University of Texas. 

Chhabra succeeds retiring CFO Angelo Bartolini, who provided 15 years of service to Altus and will assist in the transition. 

Three join Avison Young in Toronto

Avison Young has bolstered its occupier services division in Toronto with the arrival of principals Stan Krawitz, Paul Kay and Allen Grinberg. 

Krawitz, Kay and Grinberg will be responsible for assisting occupiers with their office, industrial and life sciences facilities.

For more than 30 years, Krawitz has been a leading broker in Canada’s commercial real estate landscape and has been entrusted with critical projects totalling more than 30 million square feet. He is also a Harvard-trained negotiator. 

Having spent more than 20 years in commercial real estate, Kay brings senior-level leadership expertise, specializing in tenant representation and contract negotiation. Kay is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University. 

Grinberg brings 25 years of experience providing comprehensive counsel to tenants and investors. He is an MBA graduate of the University of Hartford and holds a bachelor’s degree from York University.

Stefura appointed to Melcor board

Melcor REIT (MR-UN-T) announced the appointment of Naomi Stefura to the board of trustees.

Stefura is the executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Melcor Developments Ltd. (Melcor) and chief financial officer of the REIT.  She has been with Melcor in financial oversight and senior leadership roles for almost 15 years. 

Stefura also currently serves as vice-board chair for Explore Edmonton.

With the appointment, the board is comprised of four independent trustees and three appointed by Melcor.

Real Brokerage adds Kazeniac as COO

The Real Brokerage Inc. (REAX-T) has hired Andrew Kazeniac as its chief operating officer. 

Kazeniac brings nearly 15 years of experience in key operations and customer service roles at fast-growth companies in rapidly changing industries.

Most recently, he served as vice-president of retail operations at Drizly, where he spent six years taking on various leadership roles and responsibilities. Earlier, he held operations and customer service roles at both TripAdvisor and FlipKey.

Kazeniac holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, Baltimore.

Cullen joins Shape Capital as a managing partner

Ian Cullen has joined Shape Capital as a managing partner.

Cullen has 19 years in the real estate finance industry including institutional, private lending and Schedule I bank experience.

He brings expertise in capital advisory, loan structuring and syndication, portfolio strategy, and portfolio expansion.

Cullen is a CFA and holds a B. Comm (finance) from UBC Sauder School of Business.