About Choice

Rael has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Choice Properties since May 2019, after previously holding the role of Chief Operating Officer. From 2012 to 2018, he was President & Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT). Earlier in his career, Rael held senior financial leadership roles with Brookfield subsidiary public entities, including Rouse Properties, Brookfield Office Properties Canada, and the Howard Hughes Corporation.

He is a Director of the Tannenbaum Hebrew Academy and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University. Rael is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).

Erin has overall responsibility for Choice Properties’ financial strategy and capital management. She leads and is accountable for Choice’s finance, accounting and information technology teams.

Prior to joining Choice in 2022, Erin spent over a decade in various progressive corporate and operational finance positions across the George Weston Group of Companies, including roles at George Weston Limited, Loblaw Companies Limited and Loblaw Digital.

Erin previously worked at AGF Investments in financial planning, and earned her CPA, CA designation while working at KPMG. Erin graduated from McGill University and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting.

Niall is responsible for Choice Properties’ operational and development strategy. He leads and is accountable for our asset management, property management, leasing, development, and construction teams.

Niall is a real estate executive with 30 years of experience within residential and commercial development, asset management and investments in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining Choice, Niall was President and COO of Great Gulf Group’s Residential division, where he provided leadership and operational guidance to the group’s residential platforms in Canada, and high-rise projects in the U.S. Additionally, Niall held the position of Senior Vice President of Development at Cadillac Fairview where he was responsible for many of the company’s commercial and mixed-use residential developments.

Niall holds a BSc. in Surveying from University of Dublin, a MSc Real Estate (Honours), from The Dublin Institute of Technology and is an accredited Chartered Surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Peter is responsible for the National Retail Leasing division at Choice. His mandate includes developing a multi-year strategy to help facilitate the growth of this portfolio, reiterating its importance amongst our asset classes. He brings forth extensive experience in working with tenants and investors, and a strong understanding of the retail landscape with over 10 years of experience in the commercial real estate sector.

Previously, he served as the Senior Manager of Retail Leasing at Oxford Properties Group, where he was responsible for leasing Square One shopping centre and the Urban Retail portfolio, as well executing on the leasing of national food & beverage and entertainment initiatives. Prior to that he was at Trinity Development Group where he oversaw multiple development leasing projects across Southern Ontario and Alberta.

Peter holds a HBA & MA in Political Science and Government from the University of Toronto. Additionally, he has an OREA Real Estate License and is a Member of the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC).

Charlie is responsible for leading Choice Properties’ technology strategy, ensuring alignment between IT initiatives and the company’s overall business objectives.

With more than 20 years of experience in technology, he has built and transformed technology functions to drive innovation, strengthen cyber security and privacy, and enhance operational efficiency through data and automation. Prior to joining Choice, Charlie was the Vice President and Head of Information Technology at Amica Senior Lifestyles, where he led the company’s digital transformation and modernization initiatives. He previously held progressive roles at Procter & Gamble, CIBC and Mattamy Homes.

Charlie holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and a BA in Economics from the University of Toronto.

Simone is responsible for leading Choice Properties’ legal team through leasing, transactional, operational and corporate governance matters.

Simone has spent over a decade within the George Weston Group of Companies, including five years as Vice President, General Counsel and Head of Compliance of its former North American food manufacturing division. Prior to joining Weston, Simone practiced corporate law on Bay Street at Torys LLP. Simone graduated with a LL.B with distinction from the University of New Brunswick in 2006 and was called to the bar in 2007. Simone also holds an Honours BA degree and a BEd degree with distinction.

Mario is responsible for overseeing Choice Properties’ industrial development pipeline and our retail intensification program.

Prior to joining Choice, Mario held several positions within Loblaw Companies Limited (“LCL”) for 25 years, culminating with his appointment to VP, Planning & Development in the real estate division. He was involved in all aspects of LCL’s development, construction, and ultimate opening of the company’s assets.

Mario holds a BA degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Toronto Metropolitan University.

John is responsible for leading the development of mixed-use projects at Choice Properties. He overseas design architecture, government communications and approvals, while managing the day-to-day operations.

He has over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry within residential, mixed-used and commercial development. His most notable achievements include leading a development team at Dream for the design, strategy and delivery of Forma Towers – a mixed-used condo development designed by world-famous architect Frank Gehry. John also led multiple projects in the Zibi development in Ottawa, a 37-acre mixed-used development, including the delivery of a turn-key office building that was designed and constructed within two years. At Choice Properties, John is proud to be spearheading leading edge projects that put a spotlight on sustainability and high-performance.

John holds a BBA from York University. He continues to be an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

Sandra is responsible for the design, development and implementation of information security, privacy, management, and data governance programs at Choice Properties.

Prior to Choice, Sandra worked at LoyaltyOne, Netrus, Ernst & Young and Unilever where she strategized and managed secure corporate information security architectures to meet industry best practices, compliance requirements and raised security consciousness levels of the organizations by actively engaging all parts of the business. Sandra is Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), a Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and a graduate of OCAD University.

Craig leads strategic business initiatives at Choice.

Craig has spent over a decade in various roles across the George Weston Group of Companies, including progressive roles at Choice Properties in financial strategy, capital management, transactions, and investor relations, and more recently, Craig led the Capital Markets and Corporate Finance function at George Weston Limited.

Craig previously worked at Deloitte, where he earned his CPA, CA designation. Craig graduated from Dalhousie University and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Accounting.

Jeffery is responsible for overseeing development projects across all commercial asset classes nationally.

Jeffery has over 25 years of development experience across retail, mixed-use, industrial, and residential asset classes in both Canada and the United States. Prior to joining Choice, Jeffery was Vice President, Development at QuadReal Property Group. Over his career, he has managed numerous large-scale projects including the Bow River Shopping Centre, Westwind Centre, and Sunfish Shopping Centre.

Jeffery holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) in Urban Planning from the University of Waterloo.

Claudia oversees the planning and delivery of all property management services, capital improvements and lease administration for our national portfolio of retail, industrial, office and mixed-use assets.

Prior to joining Choice, Claudia has over 30 years of real estate experience, working at well renowned companies. Her career in property management began at Slough Estates, and from there, she went on to work at Dundee Realty Management Corp., where she managed a challenging portfolio of office & industrial mix and led a property management team. Claudia was also at GE Capital Real Estate as Director of Property Management, where she collaborated with other colleagues in construction, accounting, and leasing, and was appointed Ombudsman for two years, achieving record registered calls and successful resolution of cases. Her final stop before joining Choice, was with CBRE Limited, as Canadian Director of Property Management, which allowed her a greater opportunity to mentor a young team and foster a high-performing and service-oriented culture.

Lauryn leads the asset management and leasing of the industrial and office portfolios at Choice Properties.

Lauryn has over 18 years of commercial real estate experience and has worked on both the leasing brokerage and asset management side of the industry. Prior to joining Choice, Lauryn was Vice President of Asset Management at Crown Property Management Inc. where she provided oversight to various functions such as leasing, property management, dispositions, financing, ESG, and capital expenditure and planning. Lauryn is a seasoned leader who collaborates across the organization to ensure assets meet performance objectives, emphasizing sustainability in value creation. She holds an Honours BA degree from Western University and an MBA from Rotman School of Management. Additionally, she holds an OREA Real Estate License.

At Choice Properties, Julie is responsible for construction of all asset classes across Canada including retail, industrial, mixed-use and residential. She leads and is accountable for Choice Properties’ construction, design, and engineering teams, and oversees the integration of our corporate environmental and social sustainability ambitions into the design and execution standards for all new gross leasable area (GLA) construction projects.

Prior to joining Choice, Julie led a team at Hines Canada that managed site plan approvals, permitting processes, and construction of a purpose-built high-rise rental building in Toronto, as well as a phased mixed-use subdivision with two mass-timber office buildings. During her 12-year tenure with Canderel, Julie was responsible for the development and construction of several landmark, high-rise residential developments in downtown Toronto. Some notable projects include the 80-storey Aura mixed-use building, the 66-storey YC Condominiums, and the 51-storey and the 46-storey Residences of College Park condominiums.

Her experience in complex high-rise residential construction in Canada spans 22 years and coincides with her extensive experience in and knowledge of every stage of a project lifecycle. Julie holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering with specialization in structures from University of W.I.

Orit leads the leadership and governance of the ESG portfolio and oversees all Marketing & Communications for Choice. Her mandate includes positioning sustainability and social impact at the forefront across all lines of business and amongst stakeholders at large.

Orit is a veteran in urban development and placemaking, with a career spanning multiple sectors. Previously, she served as the Chief Program Officer at Evergreen, where she provided oversight and direction to Evergreen Brickworks, leading their placemaking efforts on a national scale. She led high impact initiatives that encompassed smart cities, affordable housing, and projecting sustainability needs for both larger and smaller municipalities.

One of her most notable projects to date includes developing a comprehensive cultural plan for the City of Chicago, which involved extensive research into the potential for communities strengthen their cultural assets for long-term development. An instrumental part of her plan included developing pathways to bridge barriers inclusive to transportation, infrastructure, and neighbourhood investment.

Orit is passionate about designing and activating spaces as to provide a holistic experience, and aims to incorporate an ESG lens into the communities we operate in. She holds a B.A. with Honours from Harvard University and a Master in urban planning from The University of Washington.

Rose has spent nearly 20 years in the real estate industry with progressive roles in finance and accounting. Prior to joining Choice Properties, Rose held various positions with First Capital REIT and earned her CPA, CA designation with Deloitte. Rose graduated with honours from the Schulich School of Business at York University with BBA focused in Accounting.

Fernando manages the execution and delivery of residential and mixed-use developments at Choice Properties.

Fernando has over two decades of experience in multi-residential and commercial development, spanning metropolitan centres across Canada and Mexico. During his tenure in Shiplake and Collecdev as the Vice President of Development, he oversaw the entire residential and mixed-use development process from inception to completion.

He has made significant contributions to the real estate industry, executing on complex high-rise residential, industrial and infrastructure development projects at various multi-national organizations such as Hines, Lendlease, and Acciona. His various roles have allowed him to hone his skills in construction project management in multiple asset classes, financial analysis, and sustainable development practices. Fernando’s commitment to sustainability has driven his efforts to create thriving, inclusive communities across North America.

Fernando holds a Master of Finance from Anahuac University and a BSc. in Civil Engineering from the University Tec de Monterrey in Mexico.

Nicole leads retail asset management at Choice Properties.

Nicole has over 15 years of commercial real estate experience comprising a variety of functions including development, asset management, property management and leasing. Prior to joining Choice, Nicole managed RioCan’s retail asset portfolio which included mixed-use and development sites. Previous experience also includes the development and expansion of enclosed shopping malls at Ivanhoe Cambridge and land development at SmartCentres. Nicole holds an Honours BA degree in Urban Development from Western University and an MBA degree specializing in Real Property from the Schulich School of Business.