(Connect Canada CRE has named its 2024 Canadian Women in Real Estate Award winners. This story profiles Christina Iacoucci, head of Canada and chief invesment office for BGO.)

Christina lacoucci serves as the head of Canada and Canadian chief investment officer for BGO.

Headquartered in Miami, BGO was formed through a merger between U.S.-based GreenOak Real Estate and Vancouver-based Bentall Kennedy in 2019. BGO is a subsidiary of Toronto-based Sun Life, one of Canada’s largest institutional investors.

With more than a century of history in Canada, BGO provides investment management, development, lending, and real estate services across the globe. Iacoucci was promoted to head for Canada in January 2024 while retaining her chief investment officer position.

She has held executive positions with BGO, Bentall Kennedy and Sun Life since 1998.

“As the leader for BGO in Canada, I have been particularly focused on fostering a culture of innovation,” she told Connect Canada CRE in an interview published as part of a summer leadership series.

“This involves encouraging cross-functional teams to experiment with new ideas, supported by a leadership team that values creativity and rewards calculated risks. I view the thorough evaluation and testing of new ideas – whether they succeed or don’t – as a learning opportunity, which is crucial for growth and innovation.”

As the leader of BGO in Canada, she strives to have the overarching executive team’s buy-in of company strategies and initiatives spread throughout the organization.

“Strong leadership buy-in is absolutely crucial,” she said. “Leaders at BGO set the tone for our firm by fully endorsing and embodying the values and direction they want the organization to pursue.

“This commitment from the top encourages the entire team to align with organizational goals and fosters a culture of agility and accountability. This allows us to be responsive and adaptable to new opportunities and industry changes.”

As a lifelong learner, she prioritizes the nurturing of a workplace environment that encourages continuous learning and professional development, striving to avoid the trap mindset of: “We’ve always done it this way.” As a result, she said, BGO ensures that its leadership team is “not only evolving, but also leading with courage” on advancements in the commercial real estate industry.

Iacoucci also fosters a collaborative environment designed to ensure that everyone’s voice gets heard and tough questions are asked to uncover the root causes of obstacles and achieve meaningful change. She also embraces mentorship as both a giver and a recipient and aims to lead, and have emerging stars, lead with integrity, humility and kindness.

Before joining what is now BGO, she spent seven years as an appraiser with Lincoln North in Toronto.

These are just some of the reasons why she was chosen for a 2024 Canadian Women in Real Estate Award.