Exchange Magazine Winter 2025

EXCHANGE 2025

WINTER

MAGAZINE

A VISION FOR A

STRONGER

INDUSTRY

RESTORING

CONSUMER

TRUST

VERIFICATION,

GOVERNANCE &

GRACE

INTRODUCING

REIC VERIFIED TM

A MANIFESTO IN

LEADERSHIP

2 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

This publication, Exchange Magazine Winter 2025, is protected by copyright law. No part of this magazine may be

reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other

electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC),

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain

other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

The content in Exchange Magazine Winter 2025 includes original articles and contributions from various authors. The

Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy or reliability of any views, opinions,

or information presented by contributors. Any reliance you place on such information is at your own risk.

Exchange is brought to you by a dedicated team who believe in the power of great stories and sharp design.

Don Inouye – Publisher

Amber Wavryk – Editor-in-Chief

Natalie Espinola - Consultant

Anna Petrela – Lead Graphic Designer

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed creating it.

WWW.REIC.CA 3

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

PUBLISHER’S

NOTE

VERIFICATION, GOVERNANCE & GRACE

A MANIFESTO FOR LEADERSHIP IN REAL ESTATE

MANAGING UNCERTAINTY

WILL BE KEY THIS DECADE

A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR HOUSING

ONE WE CAN MEET TOGETHER

LEADERSHIP AT BOMA:

BUILDING COMMUNITY, PURPOSE AND EXCELLENCE

THE PATHWAY TO

EXCELLENCE

ALAN TENNANT ON THE POWER OF

PROFESSIONALISM AND LIFELONG LEARNING

THE POWER OF DESIGNATIONS IN

CANADA’S REAL ESTATE MARKET

RESTORING CONSUMER TRUST

IN CANADIAN REAL ESTATE

BUILDING A BUSINESS IN

AN ERA OF DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

REDEFINING LUXURY:

WHAT IT TAKES TO SELL AT THE TOP

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT

YOU DON’T KNOW UNTIL YOU DO

LEADING WITH TRUST:

BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES

THROUGH SMARTER SCREENING

REAL ESTATE AND THE

FOUNDATIONS OF TRUST

4 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

PUBLISHER’S

NOTE

Why leadership now? Because trust,

safety, and performance are built in

the small details – person by per-

son, meeting by meeting, and de-

cision by decision. In the past year,

I’ve sat with leaders across property

management, real estate broker-

age, property development, and

association life. We talked about

hard trade offs: tenant safety versus

occupancy targets; reserves ver-

sus near term optics; transparency

versus expediency. We also talked

about structure: decision logs, es-

calation paths, reserve adequacy,

credential verification, and board

discipline.

This preamble sets the frame for the

longer essay you’re about to read. It

proposes that our sector’s next leap

won’t come from slogans or a single

keynote - it will come from architec-

ture: systems that make ethical be-

haviour likely, governance discipline

normal, and professional verification

routine.

I’m grateful to the leaders whose

ideas inform these pages - from

sustainability and accessibility ad-

vances in commercial real estate

to a renewed focus on member

centred standards in property man-

agement education. Their common

thread is design over declaration. If

we want communities that are safer,

portfolios that are steadier, and ca-

reers that compound in value, lead-

ership must be structural.

Let’s build the scaffolding and make

it sturdy.

By: Don Inouye, Chief Executive Officer, Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC/ICI)

Pictured left to right; Don Inouye (CEO), Winson Chan

(Past President at REIC), Don Kottick (Past President at

REIC), and Garry Bhaura (Incoming Chair at CREA).

WWW.REIC.CA 5

VERIFICATION, GOVERNANCE & GRACE

A MANIFESTO FOR

LEADERSHIP IN

REAL ESTATE

Leadership isn’t a press release; it’s the scaffolding

we assemble around our promises.

This year - on stages from The

International MLS Forum, The

Buildings Show in Toronto to

panels and executive round-

tables across Canada - I’ve

asked rooms full of property

managers, real estate bro-

kers, association executives,

and public sector partners to

consider a simple proposi-

tion: move from performative

leadership to structural lead-

ership. Make ethics routine,

not heroic. Make verification

normal, not exceptional. Treat

governance as a performance

discipline, not a binder on a

shelf.

Ethics

Before

Efficiency…

Every Time

At The Buildings Show, I mod-

erated “Ethics and Excellence:

Shaping the Future of Proper-

ty Management.” We didn’t

chase shiny tech and AI. We

talked about the occasional

discomfort of doing the right

thing when the spreadsheet

seems to argue otherwise. I

asked the panel; “If fixing a

critical safety issue in a con-

do means exposing years of

board negligence and trig-

gering lawsuits, do you dis-

close everything or protect

the corporation? Where does

ethics outweigh liability?” It’s

the right question - because

real leadership isn’t about

charisma; it’s about systems

that make ethical decisions

more likely, especially under

pressure. Their answer, “yes”

you disclose everything, “yes”

you do the right thing, and

“yes” you protect the corpora-

tion. Followed by a quick jab

– “that’s not a hard question

Don.”

As property managers and fa-

cilities professionals, we know

that our work goes far beyond

bricks and mortar. It’s about

trust, relationships, and the

values we uphold every day.

Ethics isn’t just a set of rules

- it’s the compass that guides

our decisions, especially in

moments when the right path

isn’t clearly marked.

Leadership is not the mastery

of the convenient. It’s fidelity

to principles when expedien-

cy is cheaper. In the proper-

ty management sector, that

means recognizing that safe-

ty, maintenance integrity, and

transparent communications

are not cost centres; they’re

trust centres. When we build

ethical practices into the op-

erating system - clear es-

calation pathways, decision

logs, independent checks on

reserve forecast - most “hard

choices” stop being hard and

start being habitual.

By: Don Inouye, Chief Executive Officer, Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC/ICI)

6 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

Across my interviews with more than a dozen

leaders in property management this year, three

patterns keep resurfacing:

•

Safety as Strategy: Preventative maintenance

schedules, life safety audits, and incident

transparency are treated as strategic assets,

not compliance chores.

•

Speak Plainly, Act Quickly: Teams that explain

policies in one paragraph execute faster and

learn faster.

•

Make Trade offs Visible: When leaders ar-

ticulate the risks of “cheap now, costly later,”

boards and clients back sturdier plans.

These aren’t slogans; they’re habits. And habits

scale.

Verification Over Vibes

At REIC, we launched the REIC Verification Ser-

vice with partners who understand that reputa-

tion now travels at the speed of a screenshot.

When agents, managers, and advisors can prove

their; credentials, clean criminal records, edu-

cation completion, and adherence to explicit

standards, we give clients and tenants some-

thing more valuable than marketing - we give

them confidence.

It reduces friction in hiring, raises the floor on

practice reliability, and makes excellence visible.

Combined with a clear code of ethics and en-

forced learning pathways, verification becomes

a cultural signal: we take our promises seriously.

Verification is only as strong as the data behind it.

That’s why we’ve integrated background screen-

ing into the REIC Verification Service through a

partnership with Triton Canada - a Canadian pro-

vider that delivers name based criminal record

checks in under 15 minutes by querying the RC-

MP’s Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC),

alongside education, employment, credit, and

social media checks from a SOC 2/PCI compli-

ant platform. And because Triton is a Canadian

provider, screening data stays within Canadian

privacy frameworks (e.g., PIPEDA), giving the In-

stitute assurance on compliance while keeping

the process fast for verification candidates.

Governance Is a Performance Discipline

Canada’s ICD.D designation is rightly respected. In

real estate, we’re advancing the RSG.D at REIC as

a sector specific governance credential: rigorous,

practical, and built for our realities - capital cycles,

reserve planning, risk and conflict management,

complex regulatory compliance, and multi stake-

holder asset stewardship. Governance is not a

seminar; it’s a muscle: agendas, committees, min-

utes, risk maps, and decision rights clarity. When

boards treat governance as performance, strategy

tightens and accountability gets real.

Governance is both a performance discipline, and it

is a perishable skill. If we stop practicing the funda-

mentals, the “muscle” fades. Agendas lose struc-

ture, decision rights get fuzzy, conflicts of interest

go unaddressed, risks are not tracked, and action

items linger. Audits turn into once-a-year ceremo-

nies instead of guardrails that guide daily work.

The remedy is steady cadence. Keep the consent

agenda clean at every meeting. Record a simple

decision log that shows the options you consid-

ered and why you chose one. Hold quarterly re-

views that ask what could go wrong and how you

would respond. Run tabletop exercises for crisis

and liquidity scenarios. Compare the reserve pol-

icy with real funding progress and close any gaps

you find.

Track a few leading signals. How quickly do we

close board actions. How current is the risk map.

How often does a decision show a documented

challenge from more than one voice. When these

“VERIFICATION

ISN’T ABOUT

CATCHING

BAD ACTORS;

IT’S ABOUT

ELEVATING THE

EVERYDAY”

WWW.REIC.CA 7

habits stay active, governance stays sharp, practi-

cal, and focused on performance rather than cer-

emony.

Rooms Where Disagreement Is Safe

The strongest panels/discussions/events I’ve

been a part of share one quality: disagreement

without hostility. Leadership isn’t consensus thea-

tre. It’s the courage to put well argued positions on

the table, surface trade offs, and let better ideas

win.

In January, I’ll be moderating “Leading the Nation;

How Top Brand Leaders are Navigating Econom-

ic Pressures and Setting the Course for 2026” with

industry leaders focused on practical architec-

tures – we’ll hear directly from the Senior Execu-

tives steering Canada’s most recognized real es-

tate brands as they unpack the economic realities,

market shifts, and strategic decisions influencing

the path to 2026. This will be a candid and for-

ward-looking discussion offering national insight,

a grounded perspective, organizational leadership

& direction, and professional standards at a time

when clarity matters most.

Diverse opinions - especially when they surface

through respectful disagreement - make leaders

smarter because they force cognitive elabora-

tion: teams consider more data, weigh alternative

frames, and test assumptions that a comfortable

consensus would ignore. Decades of research

show that authentic dissent broadens thinking and

improves decisions, even when the dissenter turns

out to be wrong, by disrupting confirmation bias

and prompting people to re‑examine evidence.

In complex problems, cognitive diversity relia-

bly yields “diversity bonuses” in problem‑solving,

prediction, and innovation; mixed repertoires of

heuristics and perspectives outperform homog-

enous groups of high performers. Related work

on collective intelligence finds that group perfor-

mance across tasks is predicted less by the IQ of

the smartest individual and more by interaction

quality and diverse composition (including social

sensitivity), reinforcing the case for varied view-

points. Practically, leaders who coach constructive

dissent, setting ground rules for challenge without

hostility - avoid groupthink and make systemati-

cally better calls.

Education Partners Are Force Multipliers

We’ve deepened partnerships with universi-

ties and associations to align curriculum with

the designations that matter - finance based

credentials, governance, reserve planning,

and property management pathways via IREM.

Leadership is not formed in ballrooms; it’s built

in classrooms, mentorships, site visits, and the

lived practice of standards. Panels are sparks;

education is the engine.

A highlight from this fall: touring a major urban

asset with students and industry leaders - dis-

cussing reserve forecasting, lifecycle budget-

ing, and the tension between historical pres-

ervation and modern compliance came to life.

Great leaders are formed by great questions in

real settings.

To put education at the centre of our talent

pipeline, in January we’re convening a tri‑asso-

ciation panel - REIC, BOMA Canada, and IREM

- focused on attracting the next generation of

leaders into real estate. I’ll be joined by Ben-

jamin Shinewald, President & CEO of BOMA

Canada, whose work with programs like BOMA

BEST has made sustainability and accessibili-

ty a practical on‑ramp for emerging profes-

sionals, and Zack Wahlquist, CEO & Executive

Vice President of IREM, who is advancing a

people‑centred, globally minded approach to

real estate management education and certifi-

cation. Together, we’ll align outreach, stackable

credentials, and paid pathways so students and

early‑career professionals can see clear, veri-

fied routes from classroom to portfolio respon-

sibility.

A Word on Grace

Leadership requires grace. The ability to be firm

without being harsh, to correct without humili-

ating, to admit mistakes without dissolving into

defensiveness. In a year when I’ve spoken on

stages across Canada and worked with part-

ners throughout North America, I’ve seen how

grace is the lubricant of rigorous systems. It

keeps people engaged long enough to change.

It turns compliance into culture. It is not soft; it

is strong.

8 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

REIC Q1: What inspired you to co-author

the book?

Tsiakopoulos: “Believe it or not, a night at the

dinner table with my parents in the 1970s

transformed my life for ever when my mother

pulled out a dinner napkin with numbers on it

and demonstrated, with stress in her eyes, how

she ensured there was enough money coming

in to pay the expenses and cash going out.”

“It was a blunt message to a young Ted that

you need to live within your means. So, I want-

ed to pass on some strategies to future gener-

ations that worked for me, strategies on how to

manage the uncertain decade we were head-

November was financial literacy month in Canada. We

chatted with Ted Tsiakopoulos, a seasoned economist

and authoritative voice on housing and financial

markets, to discuss the key takeaways from his best-

selling book - “Property Trendsetters: Successful Toronto

Real Estate Experts Share Key Insider Secrets, 2020”.

MANAGING UNCERTAINTY WILL BE

KEY THIS DECADE

An interview with Ted Tsiakopoulos conducted by the Exchange Magazine Team

WWW.REIC.CA 9

ed into – with the end goal of setting future

generations up for success when buying or

renting a home. It was about making a differ-

ence in the lives of people.”

“Another inspiration was the publisher and

her life journey. She was a tremendously

successful businesswoman who decades

ago was a victim of domestic violence. There

I was in the middle of the pandemic thinking

about an economy that was frozen and peo-

ple trapped in their homes and how awful

it would be if they were trapped in abusive

relationships. Proceeds from this book sup-

port women facing domestic violence and

seemed to be a great charity to support five

years ago and still is today.”

REIC Q2: Can you summarize how history

shaped your view on the disruptions cit-

ed in the book?

Tsiakopoulos: “History does not always re-

peat itself the same way but sometimes

history rhymes. We can learn from history.

The interwar period between 1915-1940s

demonstrated that you cannot fix the eco-

nomic challenges of the day (i.e 1930s Great

Depression) by levying tariffs on your trading

partners. It doesn’t work and just amplified

the economic downturn during that period.”

“We also learned that supply chain disrup-

tions during the 1970s, can be both inflation-

ary and recessionary. So, we can’t complete-

ly rule out the possibility of stagflation. Is the

gold market today telling us something as it

did in the 1970s?”

“We also learned from Japan’s economic

history that as populations age, the appetite

to save vs consume could rise during peri-

ods of economic uncertainty. Recall Japan’s

population opted to save in the face uncertain-

ty following the unwinding of excess liquidity in

housing and stock markets through the 1980s

prompting a period coined as “the lost dec-

ade(s). We are seeing similar trends in current

day China.”

“Finally, we are in the fourth industrial revolution

known as the digital revolution. An interesting

finding was that industrial revolutions of the past

have some common characteristics and so the

book tried to connect those dots.”

“Extrapolating the findings of the book suggest

that tight labour markets due to aging demo-

graphics, trade disruptions sparked by winds

of deglobalization and higher debt loads would

exert upward pressure on inflation and inter-

est rates by the mid point of the 2020s decade.

However, the reverse is true in the longer term.

As businesses slowly embrace and adopt tech-

nology and as households opt to save more than

they usually do as they age, this would trigger

excess economic slack, lower inflation and low-

er interest rates. Deflation cannot be ruled out

later in the decade.”

REIC Q3: Why is it so important to better

manage debt and restore financial fitness at

a household and government sector?

Tsiakopoulos: “We have an affordability crisis

stoked by a number of factors including the lack

of home-building. But we also have a financial

awareness challenge. Part of the solution to solv-

ing the affordability crisis is solving the financial

awareness challenge at both a household and

government level. Why? Because credit imbal-

ances contribute to housing imbalances and not

the other way around. That is what we learned

about the Great Financial Crisis, the European

10 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

debt crisis and Toronto and

Vancouver’s housing experi-

ence during 2015-17 period.”

“Yes, Canadians do score well

against their global counter-

parts in financial literacy but

there are still some pockets

of concern. One notable one

is that less than half of Cana-

dians report to have a formal

budget that they monitor ac-

cording to Statistics Cana-

da data. A budget is a plan.

When credit becomes readily

available or when a shock to

income or employment hits,

that can be managed more

effectively with a budget.

The academic literature sug-

gests 90% of those who have

a budget, stay within budget,

can

distinguish

between

wants and needs and engage

less in impulsive behaviour.”

“It is difficult to flip a switch

when we are in our 20s or

30s. Canadians need to build

good financial habits early in

life. I argue the education sys-

tem has a key role to play by

using a “just in time” delivery

of financial education when

important financial decision

needs to be made across the

life cycle. But I also learned

through my lived experience

that conversations around the

dinner table with our kids is

also critical.”

“It’s also critical to achieve a

sustainable fiscal plan at a

government level. Why? Well,

“WE HAVE A FINANCIAL

AWARENESS CHALLENGE. PAR

OF THE SOLUTION TO SOLVING

THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

IS SOLVING THE FINANCIAL

AWARENESS CHALLENGE AT

BOTH A HOUSEHOLD AND

GOVERNMENT LEVEL.”

WWW.REIC.CA 11

if governments rein in spend-

ing during good economic

times, they could leverage

those savings in bad eco-

nomic times. This means rely-

ing less on monetary policy to

manage a crisis or to smooth

the business cycle. Accom-

modative monetary policy is a

blunt policy lever that carries

several side effects for inter-

est rate sensitive sectors like

housing.”

REIC Q4: How can the in-

dustry continue to demon-

strate leadership in finan-

cial literacy?

Tsiakopoulos: “I argued in the

book that the only certain-

ty over the next decade was

uncertainty. So, we need to

plan and manage this. There

is an opportunity for us to be

less transactional when deal-

ing with customers and add

value by stress testing one’s

financial situation. We often

think about movements in

home prices in an asymmet-

ric way putting more empha-

sis on upside risks and not

enough attention to downside

risks. Considering the impact

of different economic scenar-

ios both in a qualitative and

quantitative manner can help

create symmetry.”

“For example. What happens

if a shock to rates or the econ-

omy pull home prices lower?

What does it mean to your

home equity and ability to

trade-up? Do you have the

luxury of time to wait out the

recovery? Will buyer remorse

set in? Can you afford to de-

lay your decision? How does

building more savings reduce

your

mortgage

insurance

premium and improve your

monthly cash flow. How does

a savings buffer help you

manage future shocks to the

economy and interest rates?”

Ted Tsiakopoulos is a senior

economist

and

sought-after

speaker

with

decades

experience analyzing real estate

and financial markets. In 2019, Ted

joined CMHC’s Housing Markets

Policy Division and helped lead

a modelling project geared to

diagnosing the structural barriers

in the Canadian housing market.

His

team

currently

advises

the

federal

housing

minister

housing

market

policy.

12 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

Fast forward 20 years: when I returned as

CEO in 2024, what struck me most was

the surge in multi-unit mortgage loan in-

surance. For me, this was a clear signal:

Canada’s housing needs are changing –

and CMHC is evolving to meet the mo-

ment. That agility, and the chance to help

shape such a fundamental part of Cana-

dian life, is what drew me back.

As everyone in the housing sector knows,

this is a time of immense challenges.

But it’s also a time of opportunity. We’re

seeing an unprecedented, all-hands-on-

deck response: all orders of government,

the housing industry, and other partners

are working together toward common

solutions. Strong leadership from all of us

is needed to make the most of this op-

portunity.

Fixing Affordability Means Fixing Supply

The problem is clear. Prices in Toronto and

Vancouver have been climbing for dec-

ades, but since the pandemic, afforda-

bility challenges have spread to near-

ly every Canadian community. Income

growth hasn’t kept pace, and housing is

now out of reach for too many Canadians.

A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR HOUSING

ONE WE CAN

MEET TOGETHER

When I first worked at CMHC earlier in my career,

homeowner mortgage loan insurance was the

cornerstone of our business.

By: Coleen Volk, President and CEO, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

WWW.REIC.CA 13

the early 1990s, focusing on indoor air

quality, ventilation, and flexible design,

while launching awards and interna-

tional knowledge-sharing initiatives. We

helped shield Canadians from the worst

effects of the 2008 global financial cri-

sis. We played a key role in Canada’s

pandemic response. Through these and

other trials, we’ve built deep knowledge

of Canada’s housing system, a strong

network of partners, and expertise in

turning ideas into action.

Driving Real Results

You can see this in our results. In the

rental space we’re now backing be-

tween 80 and 90 percent of new con-

struction in Canada, up from just 5 per

cent in 2017.

We’ve done this by developing innova-

tive financing tools, such as multi-unit

mortgage loan insurance products like

MLI Select; and delivering programs

such as the Apartment Construction

Loan Program, which provides low-cost

financing at the early, riskiest stages of

a project. Many industry partners tell

us that next to no rental construction

would be happening without CMHC’s

support.

Our research is also driving change. Our

supply gaps reports are shaping un-

derstanding of the housing shortage

and informing government policy. Our

analysis linking municipal regulation to

higher housing prices helped inform

the creation of the Housing Accelerator

Fund, which is now fast-tracking hous-

ing in 241 communities nationwide.

Looking ahead, our role is evolving once

again. With the creation of a new feder-

al housing entity, Build Canada Homes,

and as some of the federal programs

we deliver wind down, we’ll lean even

further into supporting market housing,

This isn’t just about low-income households an-

ymore. Middle-class families – nurses, teachers,

transit workers and others – often can’t afford to

live in the communities they serve. Businesses

struggle to attract and retain workers, limiting

the diversity and prosperity of our cities. Our

research shows that a one-percent increase in

housing prices reduces inflow of people by over

one percent. That’s a direct hit to economic vi-

tality.

At the heart of the issue is supply. Record im-

migration and decades of underinvestment in

housing have left us far short of demand. To re-

store affordability to pre-pandemic levels, annu-

al housing starts would need to nearly double

from current levels for a decade.

CMHC’s Evolving Role

At CMHC, we know we can’t fix the housing crisis

alone. But we’re using every tool in our toolbox

to help meet this moment, as we’ve done before.

For nearly 80 years, CMHC has been respond-

ing to national challenges. We’ve been a trusted

partner, in good times and bad.

We were created to house returning veterans

after WWII. We advanced housing innovation in

14 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

which represents 95 percent

of homes in Canada. We will

continue to build on CMHC’s

momentum and strong track

record,

explore

innovative

approaches, and use every

tool we have -- working with

10,000 partners and clients

across the housing system to

deliver real results.

It Will Take A Village

As proud as I am of CMHC’s

work, Canada’s housing chal-

lenges are too great for one

organization – or even one

government – to solve alone.

It will take strong leadership

in every sector, with every

partner using every tool to

spur construction and restore

affordability. The good news:

We’re

seeing

mobilization

happening across the coun-

try.

CMHC is committed to work-

ing hand-in-hand with part-

ners across the housing sec-

tor to increase market housing

supply. I invite you to collabo-

rate with us – explore our fi-

nancing tools, share your ide-

as, and connect with our team

to unlock new opportunities.

By combining our expertise,

resources,

and

leadership,

we can build resilient, inclu-

sive, and thriving communi-

ties where everyone belongs.

The time to act is now – let’s

lead this change together and

make housing for all Canadi-

ans a reality.

Coleen Volk joined CMHC as President and CEO in June 2024. She brings

extensive experience in executive roles within the Province of Alberta and

the Government of Canada, and previous experience in the private sector.

This EXAL De la Concorde project offers 781 new rental units in Laval and

Terrbonne, made possible through CMHC’s Apartment Loan Construction

Program.

WWW.REIC.CA 15

LEADERSHIP AT BOMA:

BUILDING

COMMUNITY,

PURPOSE AND

EXCELLENCE

Leadership in a purpose-driv-

organization

demands

something fundamentally dif-

ferent than leading for-profit

alone. At BOMA Canada, our

purpose transcends the bot-

tom line—we exist to make

our industry stronger, green-

er, and more prosperous. This

mission shapes everything we

do and requires a leadership

approach built on authentic-

ity, collaboration, and an un-

wavering commitment to the

people who breathe life into

our organization every day.

Leading

BOMA

Canada

means understanding that

we’re not just managing an

association; we’re nurturing

a movement. Our success

depends on the passion, ex-

pertise, and dedication of our

team of professionals and the

vibrant community of mem-

bers and stakeholders who

believe in what we’re building

together. This is leadership

as stewardship—recognizing

that our role is to cultivate an

environment

where

excel-

lence flourishes and where

By: Benjamin Shinewald, ICD.D, President & CEO at Building Owners & Managers Association of Canada

(BOMA)

16 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

every voice contributes to our

collective progress.

Building an Awesome Team

Creating an exceptional team

starts with recognizing that

each person brings unique

strengths to our shared mis-

sion. At BOMA Canada, I’ve

learned that the most power-

ful teams aren’t built through

hierarchy alone, but through

trust,

empowerment,

and

support. When your purpose

is to elevate an entire indus-

try, you need team members

who see their work as more

than tasks—they need to see

themselves as architects of

transformation.

This means creating space

for innovation, welcoming di-

verse perspectives, and fos-

tering an environment where

people feel confident taking

calculated risks. It means cel-

ebrating wins together and

learning from setbacks – mis-

takes are learning opportuni-

ties. And, it means collaborat-

ing with our amazing network

of colleagues running the

eleven BOMA Local Associa-

tions across Canada, who are

always closest to our grass-

roots.

When people feel genuinely

valued—not just for what they

do, but for who they are—they

bring that extra effort that

transforms good organiza-

tions into exceptional ones.

WWW.REIC.CA 17

Together, we aim to shape

one united, purpose-driven

team to ensure that we meet

the complex local, national

and international needs of our

diverse members.

Nurturing Our Community of

Passion

Our members and stakehold-

ers represent the heart of

BOMA Canada. These profes-

sionals choose to invest their

time, energy, and resources

in advancing commercial real

estate because they believe

in the power of collective ac-

tion. Leadership here means

honouring that commitment

by creating meaningful op-

portunities for engagement,

learning, and connection.

Building community requires

intentionality. We therefore

design and run programs and

initiatives that resonate with

the real needs of our mem-

bers. This requires creating fo-

rums where experienced pro-

fessionals can share wisdom

and emerging leaders can

find their voices. Our commu-

nity isn’t monolithic—it spans

property managers, building

operators, sustainability pro-

fessionals, asset managers,

vendors and countless oth-

ers, but all share a common

passion.

When people are passionate

about BOMA and commer-

cial real estate, they become

ambassadors for our indus-

try. They mentor newcom-

ers, champion best practices,

and drive innovation in their

own organizations. Our job as

leaders is to fuel that passion

by demonstrating that their

involvement creates tangi-

ble impact—for their careers,

their companies, and the in-

dustry at large.

The Power of Purpose-Driven

Leadership

Purpose-driven

leadership

demands authenticity. Our

members can sense when

commitment is genuine ver-

sus performative. They need

to see that we’re not just talk-

ing about making the industry

greener—we’re actively ad-

vancing sustainability through

programs like BOMA En-

spire, our $24.9M investment

in Class B and C buildings

across Canada. They need

to know that when we speak

about prosperity, we mean

creating value for building

owners, tenants, and commu-

nities alike.

This type of leadership also

requires humility. We don’t

have all the answers, and

our purpose isn’t achieved

through top-down mandates.

Instead, it emerges from the

collective

wisdom

our

community,

the

innovative

thinking of our team, and the

courage to evolve as our in-

dustry transforms around us.

Learning from Mentors

No leader succeeds alone,

18 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

and I’ve been extraordinari-

ly fortunate to learn from ex-

ceptional mentors throughout

my journey at BOMA Canada.

The members of our Board

of Directors—past and pres-

ent—have been instrumental

in shaping my understanding

of what effective leadership

requires. My Board Chairs

have obviously played a par-

ticularly important role, in ad-

dition to dedicating incredible

amounts of their time and en-

ergy to our mission.

Beyond the Board, the sen-

ior executives of our Nation-

al Advisory Council provide

wisdom that only decades of

industry leadership can of-

fer. They share insights about

their

toughest

challenges

and biggest opportunities,

helping us help them. More

importantly, they’ve demon-

strated the generous spirit

that defines the best of our

industry—a willingness to in-

vest time in our organization

so that we can succeed for

the next generation.

The Grassroots Foundation

For all the importance of

boards, executives, and stra-

tegic planning, BOMA Cana-

da’s success ultimately rests

on grassroots engagement.

BOMA BEST, our flagship

environmental

certification

program,

thrives

because

building managers and sus-

tainability professionals com-

mit to the rigorous process of

measurement and improve-

ment. They’re not required

to participate; they choose

to because they believe in

operational excellence and

environmental

responsibili-

ty. This grassroots adoption

has made BOMA BEST the

world’s leading certification in

commercial real estate oper-

ations – so much so that we

are now expanding globally,

in partnership with BOMA In-

ternational.

Similarly, BOMEX flourishes

because members see value

in convening, learning, and

connecting with peers. They

bring their challenges and in-

novations to share, creating

a marketplace of ideas that

elevates everyone’s practice.

Our BOMA Canada Awards

programs succeed because

members take time to recog-

“WE AIM TO SHAPE ONE

UNITED, PURPOSE-DRIVEN

TEAM TO ENSURE THAT

WE MEET THE COMPLEX

LOCAL, NATIONAL AND

INTERNATIONAL NEEDS OF

OUR DIVERSE MEMBERS.”

nize excellence in their col-

leagues, celebrating achieve-

ments that inspire others.

This grassroots energy is the

lifeblood of BOMA Canada.

As leaders, our primary re-

sponsibility is to channel this

energy effectively—providing

structure without stifling initi-

ative, offering resources with-

out

creating

dependence,

and

celebrating

contribu-

tions while encouraging even

greater engagement.

Leading Forward

Leadership at BOMA Cana-

da is a privilege that comes

with profound responsibility.

It requires building teams that

feel empowered, nurturing

communities that feel con-

nected, embodying purpose

that feels authentic, learning

from mentors who’ve walked

the path, and honoring the

grassroots passion that makes

everything possible. When

we get this right, we don’t just

lead an organization—we ad-

vance an entire industry to-

ward a stronger, greener, and

more prosperous future.

Benjamin L. Shinewald is the

President and Chief Executive

Officer of the Building Owners

and

Managers

Association

Canada

(BOMA

Canada).

WWW.REIC.CA 19

Now more than ever, effective governance is

proving to be the foundation of a resilient and

sustainable real estate industry in Canada. As

senior executives, embracing high standards of

ethics, professionalism, decision-making, and

leadership is not only a moral imperative but a

business necessity. Strong governance fosters

transparency, protects our stakeholders, and

drives industry confidence — essential com-

ponents in maintaining Canada’s reputation as

a stable and trustworthy real estate market.

Leadership is the driving force behind effective

governance. Executives have a responsibility

to champion accountability and transparency,

instilling confidence in investors, clients, and

regulatory bodies. Strong leadership creates a

ripple effect across organizations, shaping the

industry’s reputation and influencing policy di-

rections at a national level. By prioritizing gov-

ernance, Canadian real estate executives rein-

force their commitment to ethical stewardship,

ensuring long-term growth, market stability,

and stakeholder trust. Here’s what two of our

leaders had to say about the RSG,D Program.

THE PATHWAY TO

EXCELLENCE

By: REIC/ICI Team

Pictured is the RSG.D graduating class of 2025 at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

20 REIC EXCHANGE, WINTER 2025

to navigate complex ethical or regulato-

ry decisions?

The case studies were fun and practical

to work through together with others in

the class. It allowed for opportunities to

play out real board scenarios and hav-

ing to weave ethics into governance

making decisions, which is not always

easy.

Impact, Legacy & Vision

Q: How do you plan to champion gov-

ernance excellence within your com-

pany/organization/industry moving

forward?

A: I intend to champion governance ex-

cellence by continuing to model ethical

leadership and decision transparency,

both at REIC and within the real estate

community.

Q: How do you envision the future of

governance in Canadian real estate

evolving over the next decade?

A: Governance in Canadian real estate

will evolve toward greater accountabil-

ity. Public trust is waning and re-estab-

lishing the credibility of organized real

estate will be an uphill battle. I see an

adoption of transparency, clearer con-

flict-of interest policies, and strong fidu-

ciary oversight as a need. Organizations

would do well to require that directors

are only eligible to sit on the board if they

have governance training, so the future

will see greater emphasis on govern-

ance education, director accreditation,

and performance accountability, ensur-

ing those who lead are both informed

and empowered to act with integrity.

True governance excellence will come

not from policy documents alone, but

from boards led by individuals who are

educated, principled, and courageous

enough to uphold the professional and

ethical standards our industry, and the

public deserves.

ROBIN HARDMAN’S TAKEAWAYS

Strategic Leadership & Motivation

Q: How does the RSG.D program align with

your long-term leadership goals (in your job, on

Boards/Committees/Councils, etc.)?

A: The RSG.D program supports my long-term goal

of advancing as a governance-focused leader within

both my organization and the broader real estate in-

dustry. The emphasis on strategic leadership, ethics,

and fiduciary responsibility role as President at REIC

and the curriculum’s focus on risk management,

board composition, and strategic decision-making

strengthened my ability to lead in a way that I hope

will benefit all stakeholders.

Governance & Decision-Making

Q: How has the RSG.D designation influenced

your approach to board governance and fiduci-

ary responsibility?

A: The RSG.D designation has reinforced my under-

standing that governance is an active discipline, not

a passive oversight role. It deepened my apprecia-

tion of the director’s duty of care and loyalty as well

as balancing stakeholder interests. It also reaffirmed

the importance of succession planning as essential

elements of fiduciary stewardship.

In what ways has the program enhanced your ability

Robin Hardman, CPM®,CLO, RPA, RSG.D,

President, REIC and General Manager,

Real

Estate

Management

BGO.