Perspectives Lecture

Schulich’s 2023 Perspectives Lecture was made possible through the support of our generous sponsors

The 2022 Perspectives Lecture is made possible through the generous support of the following sponsors.

Penthouse

Mezzanine

Concourse

Altus Group Oxford Properties Group CBRE Dream KingSett Capital KPMG TD Belmont Equity BILD Crestpoint Graywood PCL Construction Leaders

Barbara Zvan, President and Chief Executive Officer, University Pension Plan (UPP)

Barbara Zvan is President and Chief Executive Officer of University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP). She is responsible for realizing UPP’s strategies to deliver valuable, lifelong pension security, and service excellence to UPP’s over 39,000 members while establishing UPP as the pension solution of choice for Ontario’s university community.

Formerly the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Barb is globally recognized as a leading voice on sustainable investing and an ambassador for defined benefit pensions. She was named Canada’s CEO of the Year and Corporate Citizen of the Year 2022 by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine in honour of her contributions and leadership in both areas.

A sought-after responsible investing expert, Barb was appointed to the Government of Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance in 2018 and is an inaugural member of the Sustainable Finance Action Council, which launched in 2021. On the global stage, Barb played a significant role in creating the G7 Investor Leadership Network and was named one of 26 Climate Champions by British High Commission in Canada and the Canada Climate Law Initiative ahead of COP 26 in 2021.

She also serves on the boards of various organizations including the Responsible Investment Association, Climate Engagement Canada, and the advisory board of the Institute of Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Business.

She holds a master’s degree in Math and Statistics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University. She is a Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute, a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

Toni Rossi BPHE, ICD.D
President, Real Estate Infrastructure Ontario

As an experienced Commercial Real Estate professional, Ms. Rossi leads the overall asset management of the Province of Ontario’s General Real Estate Portfolio (46 M sq.ft and 1M acres of land) and provides realty advice, transaction, asset management and other realty services to various Public Sector portfolios. Toni also served as IO’s Interim President and CEO, as President of the Real Estate and Lending Division, and was also a key member of the Executive Team merging Ontario Realty Corp (ORC) and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) in 2012. Before joining the Crown Corporation, Toni was in Development at Oxford Properties with the majority of her Real Estate career at Cadillac Fairview. At CF she held many retail and office property management, business reengineering, national operations and marketing positions culminating as GM TD Centre. A graduate from the University of Toronto, she holds an Honours BPHE and her ICD.D from Rotman’s Institute of Corporate Directors.  A passionate community builder and volunteer fundraiser for many not‐for‐profit organizations, Toni is currently serving as Governor on the North York General Hospital Board.  She was a long time Director on the National Board of Habitat for Humanity Canada and served as Chair of the Board for Habitat Toronto and was the First Chair of the largest Canadian Women Build in Toronto. Her love of sport excellence propelled Toni to be the inaugural Board Chair for a small Canadian Olympic Athlete’s Fund.  An active mentor and member of industry associations, Toni was the 2017 Co-Chair of the Toronto Real Estate Forum,  Co-Chair of ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Committee and has held positions on the Board for Toronto CREW, Toronto’s Legacy Committee and Toronto CivicAction Committees. Toni was on Toronto Metro University (Ryerson) Real Estate Advisory Board, Urban Land Institute (ULI) Advisory Board, the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Public Sector Realty Committee.  Toni is currently the first female Chair of REALPAC and was elected to the Allied REIT Board 2022.

Mitchell Cohen
President & CEO of The Daniels Corporation

Mitchell Cohen is President & CEO of The Daniels Corporation and has managed the firm’s day-to-day operations since 1984. For over 30 years, Cohen’s leadership has carried Daniels through several real estate market cycles. Committed to community, Daniels offers innovative programs that help people achieve home ownership, and supports numerous charities and non-profit organizations. Building a team with the ability to achieve success in all forms and tenures of residential communities is a hallmark of Mr. Cohen’s leadership.
Under his direction, Daniels has developed a strong brand with residential offerings for people at all stages of life. Cohen has a Masters in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from McGill University. In 2010, Mr. Cohen was honoured with an Award of Merit from the St. George’s Society, and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2013, Mr. Cohen received an Honourary Doctorate from Ryerson University in the Faculty of Community Services. In 2019, Mitchell Cohen, was among the Members of the Order of Canada.

Mitchell Goldhar
Founder & Executive Chair – SmartCentres REIT

Mitchell Goldhar is a Canadian businessman and the founder of SmartCentres, a commercial and residential real estate company focused on bringing value to Canadian communities. Mitchell is the Executive Chairman and largest shareholder of SmartCentres REIT, publicly traded on the TSX with assets valued at $9.7 Billion. As it celebrates its 30th anniversary, SmartCentres’ rapid growth continues with $12.1 Billion in announced new real estate developments. Mitchell started SmartCentres with the belief that Canadians deserve convenient access to affordable retail. With a shared vision, he worked to help Walmart enter the Canadian market, which they did in 1994, and he eventually became, and still remains, Walmart’s only real estate development partner in the world. Mitchell is also the owner of the Penguin Group of Companies, Penguin PickUp, and Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club. Mitchell holds a BA in Political Science from York University and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management since 2004, where he has been awarded Teacher of the Year. He is a member of the Board of Onex Corporation, Indigo Books and Music, the Canadian Concussion Centre at Toronto General Hospital, and is Director Emeritus with the SickKids Foundation.

Blake Hutcheson
President & Chief Pension Officer – OMERS

Blake Hutcheson’s career spans more than three decades and includes an extensive list of professional achievements. With key roles encompassing brokerage, investments, development, capital and pension management, Blake’s perspectives on the industry are highly relevant. Blake was President and CEO of Oxford Properties Group from 2010 to 2018, and, concurrently, served as OMERS Chief Investment Officer, Real Estate and Platform Investments from 2014 to 2018. Before joining Oxford, Blake was the Head of Global Real Estate with Mount Kellett Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm with offices in key locations around the globe. Prior to that, Blake was President of the Canadian, Latin American, and Mexican operations for CB Richard Ellis. Blake has spent much of his career contributing to the industry as a member of numerous professional boards, being involved with affordable housing initiatives, municipal affairs, and infrastructure and transit panels. He is a great supporter of higher education and the development of the industry’s future leaders. A recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Blake attended Western University, obtained a Graduate Diploma in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and holds a Master of Science of Real Estate Development from Columbia University.

Jon Love
Founder and Chief Executive Officer KingSett Capital

Jon Love is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of KingSett Capital, Canada’s leading private equity real estate investment business. Jon was President and CEO of Oxford Properties Group from 1992 until November 2001 and serves on the Board of Directors of the Business Council of Canada, the Chief Executives Organization, and is a member of YPO. Jon graduated with an Honours degree in Business Administration from Western University’s Ivey School of Business. In 2016, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Western University.

Ron Mock
President and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan

Ron Mock became President and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2014. Having joined OTPP in 2001, he had previously been Senior Vice President, Fixed Income & Alternative Investments, where he managed $60 billion in assets. He was also a board member for Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited, the OTPP’s commercial real estate subsidiary. Previously Ron worked for Burns Fry (now BMO Nesbitt Burns), overseeing sales and trading staff in derivatives products. He was also the founder/CEO of Phoenix Research and Trading. Ron began his career as an electrical engineer and held a variety of positions with Ontario Hydro in the areas of fieldwork, design, construction, research, and safety. Ron graduated from the University of Toronto with a BASc in Electrical Engineering and later earned an MBA from York University, Schulich School of Business. He is currently a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Business.

Stephen Ross
Chairman and Founder of Related Companies

Stephen M. Ross is the Chairman and Founder of Related Companies. Stephen formed Related in 1972 and today the Company includes over 2,500 professionals. To date, Related has developed over $22 billion in real estate and owns real estate assets valued at over $20 billion. Stephen is also the owner of the Miami Dolphins and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Equinox Holdings, Inc. Stephen graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, from Wayne State University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree and from New York University School of Law with a Master of Laws in Taxation.

Gerald Sheff
Co-Founder of Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc.

Gerald Sheff is Co-Founder of Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., one of Canada’s pre-eminent wealth management firms. Prior to co-founding Gluskin Sheff in 1984, Mr. Sheff had a thirteen-year career in the real estate development industry with Cadillac Fairview Corporation. Mr. Sheff graduated from the School of Architecture at McGill University in 1964 and received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School in 1971. He is a Governor Emeritus of McGill University, a trustee of the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation, a Director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and a lay bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.