Roselyn D’Ascanio

Roselyn D’Ascanio has provided more than just marketing and rebranding expertise to Salthill Capital.

But her marketing and rebranding efforts have still been considerable.

Shortly after arriving from Starlight Investments, she rebranded her role to director of brand strategy and marketing with Salthill, a Toronto-based investment, asset management and property management firm.

D’Ascanio also expanded the marketing team, which she oversees, to six marketing managers across the country from two.

“A challenge Roselyn has faced in her career is others’ perception that [a young] age equates to inexperience,” said a colleague who nominated D’Ascanio for her Next Gen Award. “Roselyn has been managing teams for over six years and, many times, these teams consist of team members that are older than her.

“Dealing with this perception at times has been challenging when it is coming from a direct report. Nonetheless, Roselyn has overcome this challenge through commitment to her work to her peers and team members. She has been intentional at building relationships of trust and collaboration with her colleagues and peers, leading to lasting effective teamwork and performance. Roselyn also works hard to demonstrate her willingness to learn from others internally and in the industry.”

D’Ascanio has worked in commercial real estate for nine years. Before moving to Salthill and Starlight, she served as the marketing manager for Toronto-based Cresford Developments.

Among her many accomplishments, D’Ascanio has helped rebrand the retail component of the Pickering Town Centre redevelopment to the Shops at Pickering City Centre. The property is part of a major mixed-use redevelopment project in Pickering, Ont., involving a joint-venture between Salthill, CentreCourt and Cowie Capital.

In addition to her many duties covering numerous assets across the country, D’Ascanio oversees all of the marketing efforts for one property, a shopping centre in Tillsonburg, Ont.

“I’ve become so ingrained with that community,” she said in an interview. “And, I’ve made some connections within that town. It’s been so special and really makes you realize what an impact you make as as a landlord, and as a manager.”

She thrives on connections that she has made within and outside the company and praises Salthill for providing numerous opportunities to do so.

D’Ascanio works closely with Salthill’s investment, asset management, property management and leasing teams. But she provides more than just marketing for the company.

In addition to her role responsibilities, she leads Salthill’s connection committee which is responsible for company-wide events and initiatives aimed at building a deeper connection amongst team members and within the community. She is also an active member of the firm’s ESG and AI committees.

In addition to helping to improve Salthill, she works with ICSC in many ways to better the retail real estate sector.

Operating Salthill’s booth at the annual ICSC event in Whistler, B.C., she developed many connections with the international shopping centre council. Those connections led to her planning an ICSC event in Toronto and joining ICSC’s Calgary committee.

“Although I’m not actually located in Calgary, Salthill has quite a portfolio there,” said D’Ascanio, who works out of Toronto. “We plan on continuing to grow in the province. So, it’s been a really nice touch point for us to have networking opportunities and that sort of thing in Calgary and all throughout Alberta.”

She is also serving on organizing committee for the ICSC Toronto event that will be held in October.

D’Ascanio’s ICSC involvement led to her being nominated and and selected as a member of the group’s Next Generation Leadership Network. She was nominated by her supervisor Terra Attard, Salthill’s chief operating officer.

As part of a two-year cohort covering 2023 and 2024, she is working with 55 other ICSC next-generation leaders across North America on ways to make them more involved with the retail real estate industry.

She needed only one word to describe what her involvement with ICSC has meant to her.

“Everything,” she said with a laugh. “

“It’s been not only a way for me to connect with industry peers, and, quite frankly, to make a lot of friends in this industry across Canada and in the United States, which has been great personally, but also such a great learning experience and learning from different people who have different roles and different experiences in the industry.

“So, that’s been a massive part for me, but then also just creating deeper ties with the industry and learning more about all the opportunities that exist not only for myself, but for Salthill. It just allows me to do my job more effectively.”

Grateful for everything that the commercial real estate sector has provided for her, she is keen to give back to it.

She is also keen to help marketing professionals “who don’t always get as much exposure as others in different roles.”

“I want to make sure that everyone who works as part of this industry understands the opportunities and can be a part of all of the amazing things that make this industry so great,” she said.

“And, also to create opportunities and to be a part of helping the next generation, even beyond myself.”