MREI Student Profiles
Class of 2019
Alannah Bird
MREI 2019Prior to joining the MREI program, Alannah worked for a project management and development advisory firm in Ottawa, Canada. The firm manages a wide range of projects from hospitals, to sporting facilities, to major mixed-use developments, and this broad exposure ultimately sparked her passion for the development industry and city building. Alannah embarked on the MREI […]Read Full Story ›
Derek Wei
MREI 2019Prior to joining the MREI program, Derek was an Analyst in the City of Toronto’s Real Estate Services Division. In this position, he was tasked with the financial analysis, due diligence and negotiation of commercial leases and licenses with private landlords, tenants and developers. Prior to that, Derek worked for a boutique real estate developer […]Read Full Story ›
Jordan Trinder
MREI 2019Prior to joining the MREI program, Jordan worked as a high-rise condominium specialist with a prominent land surveying company in downtown Toronto. He consulted land developers through the municipal approval, severance and registration process of complex high-rise mixed-use developments. Working alongside the industry leaders in development, Jordan was inspired to advance his career with a […]Read Full Story ›
Mark Zaky
MREI 2019After working in various fields, from computer programming to electronics manufacturing, Mark came across the world of real estate development as he was exploring different industries in which his colleagues and family worked. He was soon taken with the vision of some day running his own real estate development firm, rivalling the likes of First […]Read Full Story ›
Miranda Gobran
MREI 2019Prior to pursuing her graduate studies, Miranda spent two years as a Mortgage Specialist at CIBC, where she dedicated her time to holding investor and first-time home-buyer seminars. Through this experience, she gained in-depth exposure to six new residential developments and worked with three different developers across the Greater Toronto Area. Miranda’s interest in real […]Read Full Story ›
Tyler McLay
MREI 2019Tyler discovered his genuine interest in real estate and city growth dynamics even before purchasing his first investment property while still in high school. Combining this passion with a diverse finance background that includes positions at TD Bank, Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment and Toronto Hydro, has propelled Tyler to his current position as a […]Read Full Story ›
Umehani Kanga
MREI 2019Umehani joined the Schulich MREI program after gaining significant work experience in both the U.S. and India. She started her professional career as a Risk Analyst at Trimont Real Estate Advisors in Atlanta, servicing real estate portfolios of large institutional clients. She later moved to become a Real Estate Private Equity Investment Analyst with Milestone […]Read Full Story ›
Walid Alhathloul
MREI 2019Walid joined the MREI program to expand his horizon in real estate and urban development, and to have a better understanding of the entire business cycle of the industry. He believes that the strong strategic foundation of the program will better prepare him for future challenges in an industry that is cyclical and sensitive to […]Read Full Story ›
ZeFeng Zhang
MREI 2019Prior to joining the Schulich Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure program, ZeFeng worked as a Project Coordinator for a local residential construction company. He was responsible for the on-site management of projects, including custom home construction and renovations. Raised in a contractor family, ZeFeng gained hands-on experience in various trades from a young age. The highlight […]Read Full Story ›
Zhengwen Sun
MREI 2019Prior to joining the MREI program, Zhengwen started his professional career as a Business Analyst at Alberta Health Services, where he created a master database that reconciles inventory and transactional data across nine legacy health systems. Then he joined MNP’s property tax recovery team, where he engaged in property valuations and assessment negotiations with the city. […]Read Full Story ›
Abdulkader Kaadan
MREI 2019Prior to enrolling in the Schulich MREI program, Abdulkader (Abe) worked as an Operations Manager responsible for lean process flow and inventory control. His true passion has always been real estate, with his interest deriving from family involvement in real estate development and investments. Abdulkader has been engaged in global megaprojects, gaining a hands-on perspective […]Read Full Story ›Class of 2018
Peyvand Melati
EMBA '18EMBA Alumnus Recognized as one of Top 14 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2023Read Full Story ›
Christine (Fan) Zhu
MREI 2018Prior to Schulich, Christine worked as a Tax Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a Credit Analyst at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. In addition to her professional work experience, Christine has also been developing her own luxury home projects in the city for several years, and she now plans to grow her development company into larger low-rise […]Read Full Story ›
Ahmed Zayed
MREI 2018Ahmed is a talented and results-oriented professional with over 13 years of experience in designing, detailing, managing and directing diverse, multi-billion dollar developments. Ahmed has practiced architecture and design management in four different cities, the most recent of which was Dubai, U.A.E., where he worked as a Senior Design Manager for the Investment Corporation of […]Read Full Story ›
Gaik Petrossian
MREI 2018Prior to pursuing the MREI designation, Gaik worked at RBC as a Commercial Account Manager, providing financing for real estate investors and trade contractors. He is passionate about ‘all things real estate’ and chose the MREI program for its strategic scope and the reputation of the Schulich School of Business. Following completion of his MREI […]Read Full Story ›
Kenneth Ngacaku
MREI 2018Kenneth has worked within the realm of architecture and development for the past ten years. Adept at programming and administering design to meet a project’s financial and functional goals, he has gained a wealth of broad and multi-faceted experience working within development teams on commercial, residential, institutional, healthcare, educational, and airport projects. Kenneth’s interest lies […]Read Full Story ›
Imran Mangalji
MREI 2018Imran came to the MREI program at Schulich having spent eight years at the helm of a private real estate holdings firm in Calgary focused on multi-family residential. Prior to that, he spent four years as a residential mortgage specialist with TD Canada Trust and RBC. Through these experiences, Imran gained experience in numerous areas […]Read Full Story ›
Claire (Xiaoting) Liu
MREI 2018Claire discovered her passion for the real estate industry while working for two years in accounting and commercial real estate leasing, where she monitored a portfolio of 52 offices across Canada. She chose the Schulich MREI program because it specifically targets students looking to advance their careers in real estate and infrastructure by providing systematic, […]Read Full Story ›
Natasha Kuperman
MREI 2018Upon graduation in 2007, with a professional degree in architecture, Natasha worked in real estate investment, focusing in natural resource-driven communities across Canada. The success of the portfolio’s income-producing properties hinged upon research into infrastructure and mining expansion. As part of the real estate acquisitions team, Natasha was responsible for identifying, screening and recommending potential […]Read Full Story ›
Michael Krasic
MREI 2018For the past eight years, Michael worked at a boutique realty advisory/development firm in Hamilton, Ontario, where he held various progressive roles and responsibilities, including his most recent role as Capital Manager. In this position, he was tasked with overseeing the debt and equity investments of the organization, while remaining active on commercial development projects. […]Read Full Story ›
Aleksandrs Jaunkalns
MREI 2018Prior to Schulich, Aleksandrs worked for two years as a Financial Analyst, then Finance Manager of a successful start-up company in Toronto. He also held Analyst positions with the RBC Capital Markets and RBC Global Risk Management teams for several years. With his background in corporate finance, Aleksandrs decided to pursue a graduate degree to […]Read Full Story ›
Andrea J.
MREI 2018Prior to joining the MREI program, Andrea had the invaluable opportunity to work for a prominent luxury condominium developer in downtown Toronto for three years in project management. She worked on six residential and mixed-use projects in Forest Hill and Yorkville, with large cross-functional teams comprised of architects, engineers, consultants, construction managers, municipal representatives and […]Read Full Story ›
Harrison Ioannou
MREI 2018Prior to enrolling in the MREI program, Harrison worked in legal management with a real estate focused law office, handling acquisition, disposition and refinance transactions. Before that he worked in marketing, where he was responsible for leading large teams involved in product promotion for prominent clients. Harrison decided to enrol in the Schulich MREI in […]Read Full Story ›
Pranavan Ganeshalingam
MREI 2018Prior to joining the MREI program, Pranavan was a Senior Economist in the Ontario Ministry of Finance, helping to oversee the province’s multi-year fiscal plan and supporting the production of the Fiscal and Economic chapters of Ontario’s Annual Budget. In order to follow his strong interest in real estate, Pranavan is now pursuing a Master […]Read Full Story ›
Benjamin Fogel
MREI 2018Ben worked as a Project Coordinator for a large national general contracting firm before joining the MREI program. After being exposed to several P3 infrastructure and development projects from a construction management level, Ben realized that he wanted to get involved in these types of projects from an overall management perspective. He decided to return […]Read Full Story ›
Patrick Dos Santos
MREI 2018Patrick is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with over three years of professional working experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ real estate and asset management team in the audit and assurance practice. He has led engagements for major Canadian real estate developers, asset managers and investors. His main interests include the institutional market for real estate asset […]Read Full Story ›
Adam Dermer
MREI 2018Prior to joining the MREI program, Adam worked in the field of corporate marketing which provided a broader understanding of the business paradigm and paved the way towards a deeper expertise of end-user real estate development. Adam joined Schulich’s MREI program to refine and broaden his knowledge of real estate development, fine tune his analytical […]Read Full Story ›
Abishek Bhasin
MREI 2018For the last six years, prior to pursuing his graduate studies, Abishek has maintained a successful career as a realtor in residential sales and marketing, having partnered in sales transactions totaling over $100 million. In order to serve his clients further and build a portfolio of developer clients pursuing small to mid-sized projects, Abishek is […]Read Full Story ›
Dina Badran
MREI 2018Dina started her professional career in 2011 as a Development Analyst with Emaar Misr – subsidiary of Emaar Properties, one of the largest master-planned community developers in the Middle East. She was later promoted to Senior Development Analyst, a position in which she managed two of the company’s biggest projects: Mivida, a mixed-use development spread […]Read Full Story ›