Toronto Workplace of the Future

JENNIFER KEESMAAT is passionate about creating places where people flourish, and was named one of the “most powerful people in Canada” by Macleans, one of the “most influential” by Toronto Life, and one of the top Women of Influence in Canada. Jennifer is a Distinguished Visitor in Residence Emeritus at the University of Toronto, and continues to share her vision for cities of the future and her belief in the importance of public sector leadership through a variety of publications including The Guardian, Macleans, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and on her podcasts, Invisible City and Within Reach. Keesmaat serves on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto and the International Panel of Experts, Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority. In 2018, Jennifer founded The Keesmaat Group – a creative group of senior-level urbanists who work with future-oriented cities, regions, companies, and organizations to advance solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time: a global housing affordability crisis, the need for mobility in our cities that forgoes dependence on fossil fuels, and smarter, quicker adaptations to a changing climate. Jennifer holds a Combined Honours degree in Philosophy and English from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in Environmental Studies, Politics and Planning, from York University. As a Registered Professional Planner, her work has been repeatedly recognized by professional associations, including as the recipient of the 2016 President’s Award of Excellence, from the Canadian Institute of Planners; the 2016 Bryden Alumni Award, York University, the 2017 City Builders Award from EDIT/the Design Exchange; the International Placemaking Award, City of Lyon, France 2017; and most recently, the 2019 The Edmund N. Bacon Award from the Center for Architecture and Design, Philadelphia.

Mr. Apps is Managing Director and team member responsible for leading the firm’s investment business in Canada, further supporting the firm’s capital markets and investment management functions throughout the country. Prior to joining Hines, he was a Principal and European COO of GreenOak Real Estate where he led the origination and execution of acquisitions in Europe, and also served as an investment professional in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Principal Investment Area where he was responsible for investing the Whitehall Funds. Over the course of his career, Mr. Apps has led the acquisition and strategic asset management of over $2.1 billion of investments and developments. Apps graduated with an AB in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to his real estate career, Mr. Apps played professional hockey in Canada and the U.S. and was named the Professional Hockey Players Association Man of the Year in 2003 for outstanding charitable efforts in his playing community.

Becca Nagorsky is the Manager of the Rail Corridor Planning team at Metrolinx. She has over ten years of experience in transit planning, leading projects ranging from subway and LRT project development to GO Rail expansion. In 2018, Becca was recognized as a Rising Star of the North American railroad industry by Progressive Railroading Magazine. Becca has taught a Fundamentals of Transportation Planning course at Seneca College and is a regular presenter at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Becca moved to Toronto in 2011 after four years in Jerusalem, Israel, working on a transit network redesign to support the city’s new light rail line. She holds a Master of Urban Planning from New York University.

Carlyle Coutinho is the President & COO of Enwave, East Region. Carlyle oversees the Canadian operations with locations in Toronto, ON; Windsor, ON; London, ON; and Charlottetown, PEI. Carlyle is focused on growth and business transformation of Enwave’s district energy platform within the Canadian Region. Throughout his time at Enwave, Carlyle has led the effort to expand the Toronto system into multiple new business lines and products, including electricity generation, and has recently spearheaded the development of a hot water business.  Furthermore, he developed an expansion strategy for major trunk line extensions to enable service delivery to new customers in the north, west and east of Toronto’s the downtown core.  As the previous CFO of Enwave, Carlyle led efforts to raise over $700M in debt, integrated eight system acquisitions, and managed the procurement strategy of all necessary commodities.   Carlyle earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.

Steve joined Cameron Stephens in 2011, working in a number of roles before assuming his current management position specializing in structuring low-rise, high-rise, green-field and infill residential debt solutions for his builders and developers. Steve also heads up the company’s marketing and advertising division, as well as originating and strategizing the underwriting process when evaluating new deals. By forging strong client relationships and building and leveraging his in-depth understanding of real estate development, Steve provides creative leadership for the company and the property development community. Prior to his employment at CSMC, Steve worked at Home Trust in the single-family-dwelling business, and previously as Senior Sales Representative at Xerox Canada. Steve has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Guelph. He is also the president and co-founder of The Friends For Life Foundation, a local Toronto-based not-for-profit organization that raises money and awareness for the Oncology Unit at the SickKids Hospital and Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

As Vice President, Development, North America, Peter Tragoulias is responsible for office building development and redevelopment projects carried out by Ivanhoé Cambridge across North America. His mandate also includes developing and maintaining strategic partnerships to support major achievements. He has worked in property development for more than 15 years, acquiring extensive expertise in developing and completing complex major projects. He joined Ivanhoé Cambridge in 2007 and has held the position of Director, Development, Office since 2016.

Benjamin L. Shinewald is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada, which represents thousands of property managers, asset managers and other members across Canada. Among other things, Benjamin’s responsibilities include BOMA BEST, Canada’s leading sustainability certification for commercial real estate. During his tenure, BOMA BEST has grown rapidly and is now expanding worldwide. BOMA Canada is also currently launching BOMA BEST Sustainable Workplaces, the world’s first sustainability certification aimed at commercial tenants. Over his 6+ years at BOMA Canada, the organization has expanded tremendously and it continues to grow, with a wide variety of new programs underway. Prior to joining BOMA in 2012, Benjamin served as the CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress. Earlier, he served in the Privy Council Office in Ottawa and practiced law in Toronto at Torys. Benjamin previously served as a Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of Israel and worked for the Leader of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, the Canadian Mission to the OECD in Paris and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club. Benjamin has won various awards including an Action Canada Fellowship, which named him “one of Canada’s best and brightest emerging leaders,” and a European Union Visitors Programme Fellowship, which recognized him as a “young, promising leader.” Benjamin was educated at the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics, the University of Manitoba and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His opinion pieces are regularly published in leading newspapers. Benjamin is active in the community, serving on various community boards including Ve’ahavta: A Jewish Humanitarian Response to Poverty. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Toronto.

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Michael Di Pasquale joined Dunpar Homes in 2009 as Controller of the company and in 2017 was appointed Chief Operating Office of Dunpar. Prior to Dunpar, Michael held the position of Senior Accountant at Deloitte & Touche. He is currently responsible for the co-ordination of partnership and joint venture initiatives for the company and manages all accounting and finance functions for Dunpar’s real estate development as well as property management divisions. Michael oversees all IT services and is involved in many legal negotiations on behalf of Dunpar. Michael has shared his real estate expertise and knowledge as a guest expert on BNN (Business News Network and CitySpark.

As Managing Principal of the Toronto Cresa office, Jamie has grown the company to become one of Canada’s largest occupier-focused commercial real estate firms. Under Jamie’s leadership, Cresa’s Toronto office has grown significantly in terms of clients, advisors and services, including strategy, transaction management, lease audit, interior design, and project management for office, industrial, medical and retail occupiers. In addition to providing leadership and strategic direction as a director of Cresa Global, Jamie works alongside his team to service clients, many with whom have been clients for decades. The key to his success has been to understand his client’s objectives and culture, in order to translate space into a strategic asset for business success.

Mike Yorke, President and Senior Business Representative of Carpenters Local 27 of the Carpenters District Council of Ontario, has over 25 years of experience in Ontario’s unionized construction industry. Local 27 represents 8000 members of the Council’s 25,000 full membership.  As President, Mr. Yorke has extensive knowledge of collective bargaining and arbitration issues as well as being involved in numerous political, community and training initiatives. He has a solid background in workplace Health and Safety issues, from both a training and a site representation perspective. Also, he is a strong community supporter of outreach to “Youth at Risk’ training programs with the City of Toronto and Toronto Housing’s (TCHC) highly regarded CHOICE and CRAFT program, and plays an active role on the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades Board of Directors. Former co-chair on the City of Toronto Youth Employment Action Plan (YEAP) Advisory Committee. Sits as a citizen advisory board member of Civic Action Toronto and an Editorial Advisory Board member of the Daily Commercial News, and an Advisory Board Member of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto. Also plays an Industry Advisor role as a Board member of the Ontario Construction Secretariat and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), as well, on the Ontario Cast in Place Concrete Development Council. (OCCDC).