Biography of Annual Trends Speaker
Province of Ontario Panel
Matthew Rae, Parliamentary Assistant, Minster of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Matthew grew up on his family’s dairy farm just north of Harriston. From a young age, he was installed with a strong work ethic and the importance of service to one’s family, community, and country. He is a graduate of The University of Guelph, and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. More recently, Matthew has worked for both John Nater, Member of Parliament for Perth-Wellington, and Randy Pettapiece, the former MPP for Perth-Wellington, at separate times. Prior to being elected in June 2022, he worked for an education non-profit focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and entrepreneurship. Matthew is an active member of the community serving on multiple local boards and committees. Prior to being Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, he was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education, the Honourable Stephen Lecce. He is also Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Outside of work and volunteering in the community, he enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, whether it is hiking, skiing, or camping.
Economic Plus Check Panel
Matthew Boukall, Vice President, Office Management, Altus Group
Matthew Boukall is responsible for the development and expansion of Altus’ data and analytics products in the US and Canada including the Data Studio, Reonomy and StratoDem Analytics platforms. Matthew has over 18 years of industry experience, including 13 years with Altus Group, and has been a frequent presenter at Altus Group events and with the media, commenting on CRE market and trends across Canada.
Emerging Trends in Real Estate Overview Panel
Frank Magliocco, National Real Estate Leader, PwC Canada
Frank Magliocco is a partner in the Assurance Group of PwC Canada and the Vaughan Office Managing partner. He is also the national leader for the Canadian Real Estate practice and a member of PwC’s Global Real Estate Leadership team.
With more than 30 years of experience in the professional services industry, Frank specializes in auditing, accounting and regulatory matters for real estate companies. He provides advice to clients in the broad real estate sector including property developers, residential construction companies, large national office, industrial and retail property owners, and property managers. In addition, Frank’s experience in the real estate sector includes instructing courses at the Real Property Association of Canada (RealPac), where he was a member of RealPac’s Financial Best Practices Committee.
Frank has been a board member and Chair of the Finance committee for Providence Healthcare Foundation, Camp Ooch, and the Italian Contemporary Film Festival as well as a board member for the Building and Land Development Association and the Urban Land Institute.
Frank began his career at PwC in 1989 and became a partner in 2001. Prior to focusing on real estate, he provided assistance with acquisitions, reorganization and debt and equity offerings to a number of private and public companies.
Frank is a CA and CPA and holds a BComm from the University of Toronto.
Emerging Trends in Real Estate Panel
Fred Cassano, Partner, National Real Estate Tax Leader, PwC Canada
Fred is a trusted business advisor to many owners of private companies located in the GTA.
Fred provides strategic business and tax advice, including structuring of personal and corporate transactions and reorganizations, assistance with shareholder/owner remuneration and designing tax-effective strategies for wealth preservation and accumulation in the context of tax, estate and succession planning.
As the National Real Estate Tax Leader, Fred dedicates most of his time servicing the real estate sector and has experience in effective tax planning for the acquisition, ownership, leasing and disposition of real estate and structuring / restructuring partnership and joint venture arrangements. His real estate clients are involved in residential, industrial and commercial development and the ownership of office, industrial and residential properties.
Together with technology partners, Fred also assists in developing strategies and structures for PropTech related ventures.
Fred is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate of York University’s Schulich School of Business.
Jaime McKenna, Managing Director, Group Head of Real Estate, Fengate
Jaime McKenna is the Managing Director, Group Head of Real Estate at Fengate. She is responsible for all aspects of Fengate’s real estate group including asset management, development, investment, financial reporting and governance. Fengate has been successful in growing its real estate portfolio through land entitlement, development and core strategies to over $10B in completed value across 75 projects, including over 11,000 residential units and 5M square feet of industrial space under various stages of stabilization and development.
Prior to joining Fengate, Jaime was Chief Investment Officer of Minto Apartment REIT where she was part of the executive team that led the initial public offering as well as the follow-on equity offering in April 2019.
Jaime is a member of several boards including: REALPAC, Trent University and Seasons’ Retirement Homes, as well as a member of Marlin Spring’s advisory committee. Jaime holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with honours, and has Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator and Institute of Corporate Director designations.
Dennis Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, Starlight Capital
Dennis Mitchell Bio Dennis Mitchell joined Starlight Capital in March 2018 as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has held executive positions with Sprott Asset Management, serving as Senior Vice-President and Senior Portfolio Manager, and Sentry Investments, serving as Executive Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer.
Mr. Mitchell received the Brendan Wood International Canadian TopGun Award in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and the Brendan Wood International 2012 Canadian TopGun Team Leader Award. He also received the Afroglobal Television Excellence Award for Enterprise in 2020 and the Black Business and Professionals Association’s Harry Jerome President’s Award in 2012.
Mr. Mitchell holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator designations and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University in 2002 and an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1998.
Mr. Mitchell currently sits on the Board of the Toronto Foundation and is Co-Founder and is Co-Founder and Director of the Black Opportunity Fund.
Toni Rossi BPHE, ICD.D, ESG.D President Real Estate Infrastructure Ontario
After a decade as President of Real Estate at IO, Toni Rossi has assumed responsibility for the development of the agency’s corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance strategy as IO’s new Chief ESG Officer.
A 30-year real estate professional, Toni led IO’s Real Estate division from 2012 to 2023. She was also IO’s Interim President and CEO, President of IO’s Lending Division, and a key member of the agency’s Executive Team during IO’s merger with the Ontario Realty Corporation in 2012.
Prior to joining IO, she held managerial positions with Oxford Properties and Cadillac Fairview.
Toni currently serves as a member of the Allied REIT Board of Trustees, the Dexterra Group Board of Directors, and the North York General Hospital Board of Governors.
She was the first female Vice-Chair and then Chair of REALPAC from 2018 to 2022, a long-time director on the boards of Habitat for Humanity Toronto and Canada, and a member of the Urban Land Institute (Toronto) Advisory Board and the Toronto Metropolitan (Ryerson) University Real Estate Advisory Board.
Toni co-chaired the Toronto 2017 Real Estate Forum, the Urban Land Institute’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Committee, and shared her strategic talents on the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Public Sector Realty Committee.
She has an Honours BPHE from the University of Toronto, an ICD.D from the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), and an ESG Designation from Competent Boards. She has been the recipient of several leadership awards, including the 2020 Women’s Infrastructure Network Outstanding Leader award.
Cecilia Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer
Cecilia joined Allied in 2015 and is our President and Chief Executive Officer. She began her career at Arthur Andersen, where she obtained her Chartered Accountant designation in 2001 while working in the assurance and valuation practices. Cecilia continued her career development through progressively more senior roles at Magna International, Canwest Broadcasting/Shaw Media and Dream Unlimited. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto.
Canada Mortgage Housing and Housing Corporation Panel
Romy Bowers, President and CEO, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Romy Bowers was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CMHC in April 2021. She leads a team of housing experts working to help everyone in Canada have a home that they can afford and that meets their needs. Romy believes CMHC can be a catalyst for solving housing affordability challenges and a leader in building a housing system that is equitable and free of systemic racism.
Romy joined CMHC in 2015 as the company’s Chief Risk Officer. She has also served as CMHC’s Chief Commercial Officer and most recently was Senior Vice-President of Client Solutions, where she led a team that brings together the expertise of CMHC’s commercial and assisted housing businesses to better understand the housing needs of Canadians and develop new client-focused products and services to meet those needs.
Prior to joining CMHC, Romy had a diverse career in the Canadian banking industry, including 12 years with the Bank of Montreal, where she gained extensive experience in treasury operations and risk management.
Romy holds an M.A. in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in Arts from McGill University.
Dr. Mike Moffatt, Senior Director, Policy and Innovation Smart Prosperity Institute
Mike is the Founding Director of the PLACE Centre and an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics, and Public Policy area group at Ivey Business School, Western University. Mike’s research focuses on the intersection of regional economic development, building child-friendly, climate-friendly housing and communities, and clean innovation. In 2017, Mike was the Chief Innovation Fellow for the Government of Canada, advising Deputy Ministers on innovation policy and emerging trends.
RBC Climate Action Panel
John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO, Royal Bank of Canada
John Stackhouse is an internationally recognized thought leader, bestselling author and one of Canada’s leading voices on climate change, innovation and economic disruption. He is senior vice-president in the Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada, leading the organization’s Climate Action Insitute, research and thought leadership on economic, technological and social change. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of the Globe and Mail and editor of Report on Business. He also serves as a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Insitute and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and sits on the national committee of the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada. His latest book, Planet Canada: How Our Expats Are Shaping the Future, explores the untapped resource of the millions of Canadians who don’t live here but exert their influence from afar.
Myha Truong-Regan, Head of Climate Research, RBC Climate Action Insitute
Myha Truong-Regan is the Head of Climate Research at RBC’s Climate Action Insitute. Prior to joining RBC, Myha was a senior economist with the Ontario Securites Commission (OSC), where her work was focused on regulatory strategy and research. Myha also had careers as an urban planner, where her focus was on environmental and social policy, and a strategy and marketing consultant, where her focus was on real estate development and consumer packaged goods.
Myha holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from the University of Waterloo.
CreateTO Panel
Vic Gupta, CEO, CreateTO
As CEO of CreateTO, Vic Gupta is focused on managing the stewardship of the City of Toronto’s real estate assets and optimizing the portfolio to deliver city-building benefits, enable City program solutions and ensure cost-effective program delivery. He served as Principal Secretary to Mayor John Tory during the Mayor’s first term in office. Prior to his time at City Hall, he ran Prime Strategies Group, a public affairs consulting business that he founded in 1999. When the company was acquired in 2011 he ran for elected office, twice as a candidate for the Member of Provincial Parliament in the riding of Richmond Hill. He has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario.
ULI Highlights Panel
Michelle Ackerman, Chair, ULI Toronto District Council and Consultant, Killmer Group
Michelle Ackerman is an infrastructure and real estate development consultant who specializes in delivering public-private partnerships, and large-scale residential and mixed-use projects. During her engagement with Kilmer Group, she has been responsible for project development, marketing and stakeholder relations for the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games Athletes’ Village, and its legacy master planned Canary District community, transforming Toronto’s downtown east. Other notable projects include the ONroute Highway Service Centres network across Ontario’s 400 series highways, Brightwater, the 72-acre redevelopment of the former Imperial Oil refinery site in Port credit, the Provincial Affordable Housing Lands Program in the West Don Lands, which will deliver over 2,300 rental units to market (including 30% affordable units) and serving as Project Director for the development of the first purpose-built, mixed-use Indigenous Hub in Canada.
Michelle has an MBA from the Rotman School of Business at University of Toronto, was a recipient of the 2016 WLI Prologis Scholarship, and was recognized in 2017 as a Champion by the Women’s Leadership Initiative at ULI Toronto for her leadership in the industry and mentorship of women. Her service to ULI includes serving as the Vice Chair of the ULI Toronto District Council and as Co-Chair for ULI Connect. Michelle is a full member of ULI and a member of the UDMUC Bronze Product Council.
Richard Joy, Executive Director, ULI Toronto District Council
Richard Joy is the Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto. Since his arrival as the first full-time Executive Director in 2014, the organization has more than tripled its membership – now the largest chapter in the global network.
ULI Toronto’s multidisciplinary professional network extends across the private and public sectors to advance the global ULI mission to “shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.”
Prior to joining ULI, Richard served as the Vice President Policy and Government Relations at the Toronto Region Board of Trade (2008-2014) following a tenure as Director of Municipal and Provincial (Ontario) at Global Public Affairs, a leading Canadian Government Relations firm.
Richard’s extensive public policy knowledge and experience comes from over a decade of service at Toronto City Hall and Queen’s Park, where he was the Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing responsible for the public policy development for the City of Toronto Act (2006).
Richard received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Carleton University, and currently sits on the Advisory Committee at the Toronto Metropolitan University Centre for Urban Research and Land Development. He has previous served on the Premier of Ontario’s Community Hubs Advisory Panel, the City of Toronto, TOCore Advisory Committee, and the Greenbelt Foundation, Places to Grow Advisory Board.