Real Estate is increasingly in short supply in major financial centres across Canada and particularly in downtown Toronto. There is a war for talent with finance, tech firms and new start-ups. So increasingly, occupiers are facing challenges finding space, whilst attracting and retaining the best talent and controlling expenditure.

This results in the need for more flexibility and adaptability in the real estate portfolio, whilst enhancing the employee experience through the workplace. Increasingly, employees expect their office to provide a stimulating and supportive environment with a range of catering opportunities, fitness and wellbeing areas, day-care and workplaces that meet ever-stricter sustainability and wellness standards.
How can developers help, what services are they providing, and how flexible can they be to meet occupier demands?

The session is chaired by Cristiano Testi, Principal Director in the interiors team at tp bennett. His experience with technology, finance, professional services and legal occupiers as well as leading developers allows him to share insightful solutions with clients in a variety of sectors and disciplines. He is on the judging panel for the BCO National Awards.

Sheila Botting recently joined Avison Young to lead the Americas Professional Services practice, and is a member of Avison Young’s Global Real Estate Executive. Through her executive real estate career, Sheila has led a number of multi-disciplinary real estate teams and assignments across the industry with owners, investors and corporate occupiers alike, earning the reputation as one of the “go to” commercial real estate advisors across the Americas.

Lisa Chan, Vice President, Global Portfolio Management and Head of Canada & the Caribbean, RBC Royal Bank, Global Portfolio Management is responsible for Royal Bank of Canada’s global real estate portfolio encompassing 22m sq. ft. With $1.4 billion annual occupancy costs, her mandate is to ensure consistent integrated service delivery across all regions globally and she is accountable for the overall Canadian and Caribbean portfolio.