Toronto Workplace of the Future

Wayne Barwise has 28 years experience in real estate development and asset management both as a successful entrepreneur for 14 years and subsequently as a corporate executive. Wayne has completed several billion dollars of commercial properties in Canada and the United States. He is responsible for the leadership of CF's development group including the strategic planning, financial returns and execution of its office, retail and mixed-use development platform. Wayne is a graduate of Harvard University (M.Arch.U.D), and the University of Toronto (B.Arch). Wayne also serves on a number of charitable boards and is Chairman, Branksome Hall Board of Governors.

Elise Trudeau is Head of Real Estate at Breather, where she manages the company’s Toronto and Montreal real estate portfolios. Since joining Breather in February of 2017, Elise is responsible for the doubling of spaces in both Canadian markets along with the company’s broader flight to quality of design and construction. Previously, Elise served as Head of Real Estate for DavidsTea, where she developed the real estate strategy for the retailer’s expansion across Canada.

Les serves as Managing Partner, Real Estate Management at Crown where he oversees the leasing, property management and customer service functions across the 5.4M square foot portfolio of assets. A passion for service is the driving force behind every layer at Crown, both internally and externally and Les is Crown’s biggest advocate of great service to tenants, the foundation of the Team’s approach to property management. Prior to joining Crown in 2002 Les was the Assistant Vice President, Real Estate, at Crown Life Insurance Company. He has over 30 years of commercial real estate experience and has overseen the repositioning of several million square feet of real estate assets across North America.

As part of the Investment & Innovation global hub, Jonathan Pearce counsels Ivanhoé Cambridge regional teams on all leasing and development activities to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic objectives. Jonathan has 30 years of experience in office & industrial leasing and the sale of corporate investment assets throughout North America. His responsibilities also include leasing for all owned (managed and non-managed) properties and developments in Canada and the Continental US, currently comprising more than 120 million square feet in multiple markets. Ivanhoé Cambridge currently has four office developments under construction or pre-development in Austin, Denver, Toronto and Mexico City, and a variety of industrial projects under development North America. Jonathan also serves on the board of IDI Logistics, a leading US logistics investor and developer based in Atlanta, that is co-owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge. Jonathan holds a BSc. (Hons) in Urban Land Economics and is a Professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Phil Kanfer is the North American Director of Business Development at WiredScore, the operators of the Wired Certification platform. Wired Certification is the first and only certification platform for internet connectivity in office buildings. Wired Certification launched in September of 2013 in participation with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The objective of the Wired Certification platform is to promote transparency around the connectivity of office buildings, which involves helping tenants & brokers locate tech-friendly office space and landlords to better understand, benchmark and market the telecommunications capabilities of their buildings.   Phil joined WiredScore as the first employee leading WiredScore’s relationships with the landlord and broker communities, expansion throughout New York City and, later, the United States. WiredScore has since expanded across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland and, now, Canada. Prior to joining the WiredScore team, Phil was a broker at Newmark Knight Frank where he concentrated solely on tenant representation. Phil’s previous experience includes seven years in finance, concentrating on the technology sector, in addition to co-founding TOUR GCX. Phil graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

Marcus is a project management specialist with 20 years of experience in the planning and delivery of a wide range of complex construction projects. He has successfully delivered many projects in various sectors and internationally, including via the Ontario alternate finance procurement (i.e. “P3”) route, with a focus on extensive pre-construction planning, design management and risk management techniques. He has worked as a superintendent, estimator, project manager, engineer, client representative, infrastructure developer and executive. He brings a wide perspective and strong capability to the design, approvals and construction stages of each project. Marcus has been an integral part of many award-winning projects and he is a recipient of a Toronto Construction Association “Best of the Best” award and a British Construction Industry Award. Marcus has overseen the growth of Gillam Group from inception to a thriving business with a staff of over 90 people, successfully completing difficult projects throughout the Ontario market.

Rodney McDonald is a Principal of Avison Young based at the company's global headquarters in Downtown Toronto. He is the Practice Leader of Consulting and Project Management Services in Ontario, leading a diverse team of professionals serving local, national and international clients. Rodney advises boards, executives and senior managers and his team’s services include real estate strategy, workplace strategy, space programming, project management, change management, and move management, working collaboratively with Avison Young’s other service lines. Rodney and his team work primarily with commercial office occupiers, including banks, insurance companies, investment management companies, law firms, tech companies, professional services, agricultural and food processors, industrial manufacturers, government and government agencies, non-profit organizations, and education.