• Scott Dorsey has informed Slate Office REIT’s board that he is unable to serve as a trustee for personal reasons. Dorsey was elected May 3 after being put forward as a nominee by both the REIT’s management and Armco. His nomination came in the aftermath of an amended 2023 settlement between Slate and G2S2, the sole shareholder of Armco, that required the board to be reduced to six members. Both G2S2 and Armco are controlled by George Armoyan, who was re-elected as a Slate trustee. G2S2 and Armco had objected to the nominations of former independent trustees Jean-Charles Angers and Lori-Ann Beausolei, who decided not to seek re-election.

• Terra Firma Capital has appointed Jun Lee as vice-president of finance. He moved to Toronto-based Terra Firma from TAS Impact, where he served as director of finance and corporate controller. His experience also includes a at Timbercreek Asset Management. Terra Firma is a real estate finance company that focuses on providing capital to developers for residential land development.

• Good Earth Coffee House has partnered with Warren Smagaren Consulting to fuel the chain’s real estate expansion plans primarily in Ontario. The collaboration will focus on establishing Good Earth locations in colleges, universities and hospitals as well as traditional retail spaces. Warren Smagaren will source area and master developers in Ontario to facilitate Calgary-based Good Earth’s franchise growth. Warren Smagaren is a leading real estate consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning, development and expansion initiatives.

• TLA Architects has appointed Emily Di Salvo as managing director. Her appointment comes after a second generation of shareholders took charge of the Montreal-based company following the retirement of Denis Tremblay. Di Salvo has 18 years of experience in accounting, finance and management with various Quebec small-and-medium-sized enterprises.

• Savills has appointed Ruth Fischer as president of its Canadian operations. Fischer has about two decades of commercial real estate industry experience in Canada and the U.S. She will oversee the firm’s Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton offices as well as its future markets and current and future service lines. Fischer moved to Savills from CBRE, where she spent 14 years performing executive, management, director and consultant roles in Montreal and Toronto. Her wide range of expertise includes brokerage, urban planning, client diagnostics, portfolio, and workplace strategy.

• Nicole Christy has been appointed as the new CEO of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, effective June 1. Christy will move to OREB after serving for the past three years as vice-president of corporate governance and leadership development with the London and St. Thomas (Ontario) Association of Realtors (LSTAR.) Before moving into the VP role, she served as LSTAR’s director of learning and leadership development. She has also worked in government relations, communications and IT roles with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. Christy will succeed Janice Myers, who left OREB, after a decade with the organization, at year-end 2023 to become CEO of CREA.

• Capstone Asset Management has added finance and property specialists James Jung and Clayton Rutquist to its investment team. Jung has assumed the role of senior portfolio manager. He joined Langley, B.C.-based Capstone from Calgary-headquartered Avenue Living Asset Management, where he was CEO of its LOGYX Management Solutions division. He has also served as chief investment officer for Pinnacle Wealth Brokers and senior vice-president of energy and banking with DBRS. Meanwhile, Rutquist has been appointed director of real estate investments. During his 24-year career, he has led about $1 billion worth of debt financings and direct real estate investments. He moved to Capstone after serving as a commercial advisor with Ashdown Capital, which operates in B.C. and Alberta. His previous employers include GE Real Estate, HSBC, CIBC and Argus Properties.

Get Ready for Canada Kick-off

Connect CRE will hold its inaugural Canada Kick-off Event in Toronto on June 11. This will be Connect’s first commercial real estate industry conference in Canada. Panelists will include Syl Apps, managing director and co-country head for Hines; Lindsay Brand, chief investment officer at Concert Properties; Mark Kenney, CEO of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; and, Marie-France Benoit, Avison Young’s director of Canadian market intelligence. Come and gain insights from industry leaders on such matters as buyer sentiment amid a lower interest-rate environment, cross-border commercial real estate transaction trends, and investors’ outlook for 2024 and beyond. Register today.