ICYMI

2025: Shaping the Future of Real Estate with Rael Diamond, Choice Properties

2024 Fireside Chat: Mitchell Cohen, The Daniels Corporation, and Maayan Ziv, AccessNow.

ULI Toronto is proud to host its 16th Annual Fireside Chat featuring Mitchell Cohen, President and CEO of The Daniels Corporation, in a dynamic conversation moderated by Maayan Ziv, Founder and CEO of AccessNow. Guided by Mitchell’s visionary leadership, The Daniels Corporation has built nearly 40,000 homes over 40 years, earning widespread acclaim and numerous industry accolades for its innovative approach to building communities across the Toronto Region. Mitchell’s unwavering commitment to ci...

2023 Fireside Chat: Babak Mortazavi, Tooran Mortazavi, Mazyar Mortazavi, TAS

As Canada’s only certified B Corp Real Estate Platform, Toronto’s TAS is defining the meaning of ESG in real estate, staking a global leadership position in deploying real estate as a tool for social and environmental impact. Launched in the 1980’s by new Canadians, Babak and Tooran Mortazavi, as custom home builders to today’s over 70 strong real estate professionals led by son & CEO, Mazyar Mortazavi, TAS has become a great Canadian intergenerational family business success story. ULI Toro...

2022 Fireside Chat: Anna-Maria Kaneff, Kaneff Group; Christina Sorbara, Sorbara Group of Companies; and Andrea DelZotto,Tridel Group of Companies and Concrete Cardinal

ULI Toronto is proud to host its 14th annual Fireside Chat with Anna-Maria Kaneff, Executive Vice President, Kaneff Group; Christina Sorbara, Vice President, Sorbara Group of Companies; and Andrea DelZotto, Executive Board Member, Tridel Group of Companies and CEO Concrete Cardinal. The discussion will be moderated by Lori Beausoleil, Retired PwC Partner, Corporate Board Chair and DEI advisor.

2021 Fireside Chat: Jane Pepino, Aird Berlis

Simply put, there is no more recognizable name in Canadian municipal law than Jane Pepino, founder of Aird & Berlis’ Municipal and Land Use Planning Group. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Jane has shaped many of the most consequential city building developments in the Toronto Region. Decorated for her professional and philanthropic leadership, Jane is the 2020 recipient of the NAIOP Greater Toronto Community Service Award, the Canadian Urban Institute’s David Crombie Award, the Jewish...

2020 Fireside Chat: Gary Berman, Tricon

A special Spring Meeting edition of ULI Toronto’s 12th annual Fireside Chat took place in 2020 with Gary Berman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Director, Tricon. Since joining Tricon in 2002, Mr. Berman has built on the company’s 30+ year history of innovation and continuous improvement to help transform Tricon from a private provider of equity and mezzanine capital to the for-sale housing industry to a publicly listed, residential real estate company with a clear focus on rental housing i...

2019 Fireside Chat: Geoff Smith, EllisDon

ULI Toronto was pleased to host its 11th annual Fireside Chat with Geoff Smith, the President and CEO of EllisDon on the evening of February 20th, 2019. Over 350 attendees joined together that evening to learn more about EllisDon’s humble beginnings, the importance of company culture and leadership, and Smith’s insights into the future state of the industry. EllisDon is an employee-owned, $4 billion-a-year construction services company that has grown exponentially from its modest origins in Lond...

2018 Fireside Chat: Peter Gilgan, Mattamy Homes

ULI hosted its 10th annual Fireside Chat with Peter Gilgan, Founder, and CEO of Mattamy Homes, the largest privately-owned homebuilder in North America, with a 40-year history of operations across Canada and the United States. One of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs, Peter was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2013 in recognition of his innovative leadership in Canada’s construction industry and for his philanthropic support of initiatives in health care, education, and athletics. In est...

2017 Fireside Chat: A.J. Diamond, Dr. Sara Diamond, and Stephen Diamond

ULI Toronto’s 9th Annual Fireside Chat brought with it a unique theme this year, with the organization choosing to host three successful and highly regarded professionals in their respective fields whose common affiliation at a basic level is their last names. The three “Diamonds” invited to be interviewed during this year’s event were A.J. Diamond (Jack) of Diamond Schmitt Architect s, Dr. Sara Diamond (Sara) President of OCAD University, and Stephen Diamond (Stephen) of Diamond Corp....

2016 Fireside Chat: Will Fleissig, Waterfront Toronto

Ken Greenberg of Greenberg Consultants conducted the interview with Will Fleissig. Greenberg is a favourite of ULI Toronto and a wonderful interviewer with a great presence. On stage, the two gabbed about Fleissig’s move to the city and what a successful waterfront means to him during ULI Toronto’s 8th Annual Fireside Chat.

2015 Fireside Chat: Mayor John Tory

ULI Toronto was pleased to host its 7th Annual Fireside Chat with John Tory, Toronto’s 65th Mayor in an intimate evening in conversation with John Duffy, Principal, StrategyCorp – a celebration of family, business, and city building. The pair discussed a wide range of topics, from the finer points of his growth and transit agenda for the city to his long and diverse career in business, law, and politics.

2014 Fireside Chat: The Menkes Family

“He always said you never learn anything by talking,” reminisces Steven of his late father Murray Menkes, who began as a small house builder in the 1950s. Murray, an opinionated risk-taking visionary, laid the foundation for his three sons: Alan, Steven, and Peter, who collectively elevated Menkes Developments Ltd. to new heights. Today, the Menkes Empire is responsible for some of the greatest real estate developments in the Greater Toronto Area. In an intimate conversation moderated by Paul Go...

2013 Fireside Chat: Mayor McCallion and Chief Planner Jennifer Keesmaat

An impending late-winter mega-storm was not enough to curb the opinions – or the attendance of those who wanted to hear it – of equally stormy Hazel McCallion, Mayor of the City of Mississauga. On February 27, “Hurricane Hazel,” as she is affectionately known, sat down with Jennifer Keesmaat, the Chief Planner at the City of Toronto for ULI Toronto’s 5th Annual Fireside Chat. For over an hour, the 200+ attendees at the Toronto Board of Trade were riveted by this rousing conversation between two ...

2012 Fireside Chat: Peter Sharpe, Cadillac Fairview and John O’Bryan, CBRE

“Formerly of Cadillac Fairview and now of everywhere” was the attention-grabbing introduction from John O’Brian, vice chairman of CBRE, when he sat down with a longtime friend and fellow real estate veteran, Peter Sharpe, at the summer ULI Fireside chat on June 19th. The conversation touched on key people and experiences that influenced Mr. Sharpe’s career. While best known as the president and CEO of Cadillac Fairview from 2000 to 2010, Mr. Sharpe was asked to start his story at the beginning....

2011 Fireside Chat: Ed Sonshine and Fred Waks, RioCan

ULI Toronto’s popular Fireside Chat, featured a Rare Evening with Ed Sonshine, President &Chief Executive Officer interviewed by his colleague and friend, Fred Waks, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust who provided insights into his career experiences and the Riocan success story in creating Canada’s largest portfolio of shopping centers and his predictions on the future of retail in Canada and abroad.

PropTech Interview Series: IBI Group

In this episode of the ULI Toronto Proptech Interview Series, we hear from tech visionary and CEO of IBI and IBI Group, Scott Stewart. Scott shares his insights into how a major architecture firm like IBI evolved and adapted to meet the changing needs of the market by becoming a technology-driven design firm, how technology is enabling companies to be faster, better, and more cost effective, why the industry must think more widely beyond the obvious digital solutions, robots and more.

PropTech Interview Series: Procore and Multiplex

In the fourth episode of the ULI Toronto PropTech Webcast Series we hear from Tooey Courtemanche, CEO of Procore Technologies and Terry Olynyk, ULI’s Membership Committee Co-Chair and President and Managing Director of Multiplex Construction Canada Ltd, with Riggs Kubiak from Procore Technologies in the moderator’s seat. Tooey and Terry share their journeys in construction and technology, analyze the impact of COVID-19 on tech adoption, discuss innovation and creating a digital strategy, and exp...

PropTech Interview Series: HILO

In this episode of the ULI Toronto PropTech Interview Series, David Abrams, Co-Founder & CEO of HILO shares his entrepreneurial journey from communicator and marketer, to co-founder of a PropTech start-up. David and Terry discuss the evolution of HILO, how technology is transforming the way that businesses, building operators and condo managers communicate with their tenants, and how in times like these technology is helping keep people informed and connected.

PropTech Interview Series: Bridgit

In this episode of the ULI Toronto PropTech Interview Series we hear from the founders of web-based construction software company, Bridgit. Mallorie Brodie, CEO & Co-Founder and Lauren Lake, COO & Co-Founder share their journeys as entrepreneurs and how they brought the concept of Bridgit to life. For how Bridgit brought digital solutions to an historically traditional industry, advice for innovating – including to never fall in love with your own ideas – going from ‘doing’ digital to ‘being’ di...

PropTech Interview Series: EAIGLE

In this episode of the ULI Toronto PropTech Interview Series, Amir Hoss, Founder & CEO of EAIGLE sits down with Membership Committee Co-Chair, Terry Olynyk, President and Managing Director of Multiplex Construction Canada Ltd., to discuss PropTech in the age of the pandemic. How is AI crowd monitoring providing essential occupancy data to owners and operators, and helping them to make more informed decisions? Tune into the conversation to learn more.