Phil Verster is one of the UK’s rail leaders, having

managed train operations, infrastructure builds and

infrastructure management for passenger rail

systems in England, Scotland and Ireland.

An engineer by training, Phil began his career in the

electricity sector in his native South Africa. He moved

to the UK in 1996, joining Rolls-Royce as a Director

responsible for manufacturing and control systems

projects. From 2001 to 2003, he was Depot Manager

and Production Director for a UK division of

Bombardier Rail.

Phil moved from the supplier side to passenger rail operations in 2003, as Engineering

Operations Director of Southeastern Trains. He also spent five years at Irish Rail, where he

served in different roles including Deputy CEO.

In 2011, Phil joined Britain’s Network Rail. His first assignment was Managing Director

London North East and East Midlands Route (which includes the East Coast Main Line

between London and Scotland), the second largest route in the Network Rail system. He

pioneered a new approach to structured continuous improvement that delivered improved

safety and train performance as well as an enhanced passenger experience.

Phil put the same innovation and discipline to work in his subsequent assignment for Network

Rail running Scotland’s ScotRail passenger rail service, from 2015 to 2017. Since early 2017,

Phil has served as Managing Director of Network Rail’s East West Railway, which will link

Britain’s “Silicon Valley” between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Phil has a Bachelors of Engineering and a Masters of Engineering, both from the University of

Stellenbosch in South Africa. He has an MBA from the University of Newcastle Business

School and an LLM Post Graduate Diploma (Commercial Law) from the University of

Northumbria, both in the UK.

Phil is married to Carol and they have two children, Jack and Robyn. He is an active

marathoner, and an avid do-it-yourself home renovator.

Dean Cutting joined Carttera in 2009 as a Partner and has been a key contributor to the overall growth and success of the firm. Mr. Cutting brings 25 years of real estate experience to the company with an extensive background in acquisitions, development and leasing. Mr. Cutting is intimately involved in all aspects of the firm’s endeavours with a focus on origination of new real estate and fund opportunities as well as overseeing the execution of its in-house development program.

Over Mr. Cutting's career he has developed over 50 commercial projects that exceed 7 million square feet, with a cumulative project value in excess of $1.2 Billion. Prior to joining Carttera, Mr. Cutting worked with several large Canadian and International institutional investors and pension fund advisors. He has held senior positions at both Panattoni Development Canada and Bentall Kennedy where he focused on the development of office and industrial real estate for the Greater Toronto region. Prior to these positions, Mr. Cutting successfully fulfilled similar acquisition, development, leasing and financing roles for several prominent firms, including Morguard Investments, GWL, and Markborough Properties.

Leslie Woo is Chief Planning and Development Officer at Metrolinx, the regional transportation authority for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Leslie is the executive lead for planning and portfolio development of the $35B expansion in public transit. Named One of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017, Spacing Toronto's Transit Change-maker in 2016 and Canada's Women's Infrastructure Network's 2015 Outstanding Leader.

Leslie leads the strategic planning from long range transportation planning through to service planning for a full range of mobility services. She heads business areas in benefits management, design excellence, strategic land development and corporate property management. Leslie manages key relationships with municipalities, not-for-profits and the private sector. She is also a champion for driving sustainability and leads Metrolinx’s network for women.

Leslie is a passionate and influential leader with ten years of experience at Metrolinx. Prior to Metrolinx Leslie worked in the municipal, private and not-for-profit sectors. She was the key author of the original Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan (2006), which by 2016 had resulted in urban intensification totalling over 18 per cent increase in multi-family residential development, a two-thirds reduction of greenfield lands consumption, and conserved about 800 square kilometres of agricultural and rural land.

Leslie holds international responsibilities as a Global Trustee with the Urban Land Institute, and is a retired member of the Ontario Association of Architects. Awarded a 2011/12 Fellowship with International Women’s Forum, Leslie is a Director on the board of Womens’ College Hospital and for eight years was a director on the board of YMCA for the Greater Toronto Area (2009 – 2017).

Leslie is the creator of the blog shebuildcities.org celebrating women city builders around the world. Leslie received a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Waterloo where she also studied Urban and Regional Planning. She is also the 2015 recipient of the Renison University College Distinguished Alumna Award. Born in Trinidad, Leslie is the mother of two thriving global citizens.

JENNIFER KEESMAAT is passionate about creating places where people flourish, and was named one of the “most powerful people in Canada” by Macleans, one of the “most influential” by Toronto Life, and one of the top Women of Influence in Canada. Jennifer is a Distinguished Visitor in Residence Emeritus at the University of Toronto, and continues to share her vision for cities of the future and her belief in the importance of public sector leadership through a variety of publications including The Guardian, Macleans, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and on her podcasts, Invisible City and Within Reach. Keesmaat serves on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto and the International Panel of Experts, Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority.

In 2018, Jennifer founded The Keesmaat Group – a creative group of senior-level urbanists who work with future-oriented cities, regions, companies, and organizations to advance solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time: a global housing affordability crisis, the need for mobility in our cities that forgoes dependence on fossil fuels, and smarter, quicker adaptations to a changing climate.

Jennifer holds a Combined Honours degree in Philosophy and English from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in Environmental Studies, Politics and Planning, from York University. As a Registered Professional Planner, her work has been repeatedly recognized by professional associations, including as the recipient of the 2016 President’s Award of Excellence, from the Canadian Institute of Planners; the 2016 Bryden Alumni Award, York University, the 2017 City Builders Award from EDIT/the Design Exchange; the International Placemaking Award, City of Lyon, France 2017; and most recently, the 2019 The Edmund N. Bacon Award from the Center for Architecture and Design, Philadelphia.

Lorraine Huinink is VP, Corporate Real Estate at Metrolinx. In this role, Lorraine leads the Land Development team that is tasked with optimizing Metrolinx’s real estate portfolio, and in particular, facilitating transit oriented development. With the significant investment being made in GO expansion stations and Smart Track stations, it is more important than ever to ensure that transit stations are planned to ensure appropriate intensification occurs.

Becca Nagorsky is the Manager of the Rail Corridor Planning team at Metrolinx. She has over ten years of experience in transit planning, leading projects ranging from subway and LRT project development to GO Rail expansion. In 2018, Becca was recognized as a Rising Star of the North American railroad industry by Progressive Railroading Magazine. Becca has taught a Fundamentals of Transportation Planning course at Seneca College and is a regular presenter at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Becca moved to Toronto in 2011 after four years in Jerusalem, Israel, working on a transit network redesign to support the city’s new light rail line. She holds a Master of Urban Planning from New York University.

Mr. Apps is Managing Director and team member responsible for leading the firm’s investment business in Canada, further supporting the firm’s capital markets and investment management functions throughout the country. Prior to joining Hines, he was a Principal and European COO of GreenOak Real Estate where he led the origination and execution of acquisitions in Europe, and also served as an investment professional in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Principal Investment Area where he was responsible for investing the Whitehall Funds. Over the course of his career, Mr. Apps has led the acquisition and strategic asset management of over $2.1 billion of investments and developments.

Apps graduated with an AB in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to his real estate career, Mr. Apps played professional hockey in Canada and the U.S. and was named the Professional Hockey Players Association Man of the Year in 2003 for outstanding charitable efforts in his playing community.

Carlyle Coutinho is the President & COO of Enwave, East Region. Carlyle oversees the Canadian

operations with locations in Toronto, ON; Windsor, ON; London, ON; and Charlottetown, PEI.

Carlyle is focused on growth and business transformation of Enwave’s district energy platform within

the Canadian Region. Throughout his time at Enwave, Carlyle has led the effort to expand the Toronto

system into multiple new business lines and products, including electricity generation, and has recently

spearheaded the development of a hot water business.  Furthermore, he developed an expansion

strategy for major trunk line extensions to enable service delivery to new customers in the north, west

and east of Toronto’s the downtown core.  As the previous CFO of Enwave, Carlyle led efforts to raise

over $700M in debt, integrated eight system acquisitions, and managed the procurement strategy of all

necessary commodities.

Carlyle earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a

Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.

Steve joined Cameron Stephens in 2011, working in a number of roles before assuming his current

management position specializing in structuring low-rise, high-rise, green-field and infill residential

debt solutions for his builders and developers. Steve also heads up the company’s marketing and

advertising division, as well as originating and strategizing the underwriting process when evaluating

new deals. By forging strong client relationships and building and leveraging his in-depth

understanding of real estate development, Steve provides creative leadership for the company and

the property development community. Prior to his employment at CSMC, Steve worked at Home

Trust in the single-family-dwelling business, and previously as Senior Sales Representative at Xerox

Canada. Steve has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Guelph. He is also the

president and co-founder of The Friends For Life Foundation, a local Toronto-based not-for-profit

organization that raises money and awareness for the Oncology Unit at the SickKids Hospital and

Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

As Vice President, Development, North America, Peter Tragoulias is responsible for office building development and redevelopment

projects carried out by Ivanhoé Cambridge across North America. His mandate also includes developing and

maintaining strategic partnerships to support major achievements.

He has worked in property development for more than 15 years, acquiring extensive expertise in developing and

completing complex major projects. He joined Ivanhoé Cambridge in 2007 and has held the position of Director,

Development, Office since 2016.

Benjamin L. Shinewald is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Building Owners and

Managers Association of Canada, which represents thousands of property managers, asset

managers and other members across Canada. Among other things, Benjamin’s responsibilities

include BOMA BEST, Canada’s leading sustainability certification for commercial real estate.

During his tenure, BOMA BEST has grown rapidly and is now expanding worldwide. BOMA

Canada is also currently launching BOMA BEST Sustainable Workplaces, the world’s first

sustainability certification aimed at commercial tenants. Over his 6+ years at BOMA Canada, the

organization has expanded tremendously and it continues to grow, with a wide variety of new

programs underway.

Prior to joining BOMA in 2012, Benjamin served as the CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress.

Earlier, he served in the Privy Council Office in Ottawa and practiced law in Toronto at Torys.

Benjamin previously served as a Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of Israel and worked for the

Leader of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, the Canadian Mission to the OECD in Paris and

the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club.

Benjamin has won various awards including an Action Canada Fellowship, which named him

“one of Canada’s best and brightest emerging leaders,” and a European Union Visitors

Programme Fellowship, which recognized him as a “young, promising leader.”

Benjamin was educated at the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics, the

University of Manitoba and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His opinion pieces are regularly

published in leading newspapers.

Benjamin is active in the community, serving on various community boards including Ve’ahavta: A

Jewish Humanitarian Response to Poverty. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Toronto.

Top Hat is a higher education teaching app that makes active learning come to life. Our suite of easy-to-use tools address four teaching challenges: student engagement; textbook affordability and customizability; student comprehension; and secure test administration. More than 2 million students at 750 of the top 1,000 colleges and universities in North America have used Top Hat.

Michael Di Pasquale joined Dunpar Homes in 2009 as Controller of the company and in 2017 was appointed Chief Operating Office of Dunpar.

Prior to Dunpar, Michael held the position of Senior Accountant at Deloitte & Touche. He is currently responsible for the co-ordination of partnership and joint venture initiatives for the company and manages all accounting and finance functions for Dunpar’s real estate development as well as property management divisions. Michael oversees all IT services and is involved in many legal negotiations on behalf of Dunpar. Michael has shared his real estate expertise and knowledge as a guest expert on BNN (Business News Network and CitySpark.

As Managing Principal of the Toronto Cresa office, Jamie has grown the company to become one of Canada’s largest occupier-focused commercial real estate firms. Under Jamie’s leadership, Cresa’s Toronto office has grown significantly in terms of clients, advisors and services, including strategy, transaction management, lease audit, interior design, and project management for office, industrial, medical and retail occupiers.

In addition to providing leadership and strategic direction as a director of Cresa Global, Jamie works alongside his team to service clients, many with whom have been clients for decades. The key to his success has been to understand his client’s objectives and culture, in order to translate space into a strategic asset for business success.

Mike Yorke, President and Senior Business Representative of Carpenters Local 27 of the

Carpenters District Council of Ontario, has over 25 years of experience in Ontario’s unionized

construction industry.

Local 27 represents 8000 members of the Council’s 25,000 full membership.  As President, Mr.

Yorke has extensive knowledge of collective bargaining and arbitration issues as well as being

involved in numerous political, community and training initiatives. He has a solid background in

workplace Health and Safety issues, from both a training and a site representation perspective.

Also, he is a strong community supporter of outreach to “Youth at Risk’ training programs with the

City of Toronto and Toronto Housing’s (TCHC) highly regarded CHOICE and CRAFT program, and

plays an active role on the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades Board of Directors.

Former co-chair on the City of Toronto Youth Employment Action Plan (YEAP) Advisory

Committee. Sits as a citizen advisory board member of Civic Action Toronto and an Editorial

Advisory Board member of the Daily Commercial News, and an Advisory Board Member of the

Urban Land Institute, Toronto.

Also plays an Industry Advisor role as a Board member of the Ontario Construction Secretariat and

the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), as well, on the Ontario Cast in

Place Concrete Development Council. (OCCDC).