MEET THE BOARD MEMBERS
Our Advisory Board Members for the 2023/2024 Academic Year
Made up of different real estate backgrounds and visions, our board members advise the direction and execution of the Real Estate Club. Read on to learn more about our board members and their areas of expertise.
Varinder Grewal
Co-Head of Investments, Ivanhoé Cambridge
Currently serving as Co-Head of Investments, Canada for Ivanhoé Cambridge, Varinder has over 20 years of corporate, board, and institutional experience, with a successful investment track record, nurturing strong partner relationships, and deep cross-functional experience in investment operations. He is an entrepreneurial, accomplished key executive in building a high-growth, multi-asset class global real estate company from the ground floor, driving expansion in new markets and sectors. He has invested in all major Canadian and international markets, across the risk spectrum, and in all property types.
He joined QuadReal as a founding member, holding a number of responsibilities in a start-up: investment and corporate strategy, international business development, transactions and operations. Prior, he was a Portfolio Manager at BCI leading turnaround of its international RE portfolio and started at TD Securities’ RE investment banking group in Toronto.
Varinder is a CFA and a BCom from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, serving as Founding Chair of UBC RE Club’s Advisory Board.
Doug Wong
Senior Vice President, JLL Valuation Advisory
Doug Wong is a Senior Vice President with the JLL Valuation Advisory group where he acts as a co-lead for the practice in Vancouver and British Columbia.
Doug has an extensive amount of experience in the valuation of large-scale, income-producing investment assets and real estate portfolios, in British Columbia. The majority of his work has been focused on working with Canada’s largest Pension Funds, REITs, and larger local/international clients. This experience includes the valuation of office, industrial, retail, multi-family and development land. Doug was previously a Senior Director with the Altus Group where he helped manage the Research, Valuation, Advisory division in Vancouver.
Evan Allegretto
President, Intracorp Homes
With over 10 years of development experience in varied roles, Evan is currently President, British Columbia at Intracorp Homes - a fully integrated developer focused primarily on urban development. Intracorp has built over 25,000 homes in 184 communities, and currently has a BC pipeline of projects in excess of $3.3 billion. In his role, Evan oversees the business operations, as well as managing the success of Intracorp’s projects by overseeing project feasibility, product development and execution. He leads all business development and is responsible for the overall business and acquisitions strategy.
Evan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Investment Committee, tasked to make smart investment decisions on behalf of Intracorp. He is also Treasurer of the Board for Highlands Early Education Centre, a Director of the Board for the Urban Development Institute and an industry liaison for municipalities across Greater Vancouver. He has also held a number of Board positions for local not-for-profits.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, skiing, golfing and playing hockey.
Jaclyn O'Neil
Vice-President of Investment, BentallGreenOak
Jaclyn O’Neill is the Vice-President of Investments at BentallGreenOak, which she joined in December 2018. She has over 16 years of experience in the investment and management of real estate and currently is responsible for sourcing and executing transaction opportunities in Western Canada. Prior to this role, she worked in asset management for several years and oversaw a portfolio of office, industrial, multi-residential and retail assets throughout British Columbia comprised of over 4 million square feet. Before joining BentallGreenOak, she worked at Triovest Realty Advisors and began her career as an appraiser with the Altus Group.
Jaclyn has a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science & Economics) and a Diploma in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia. She is also an accredited appraiser with the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AACI™).
Madeleine Payne
Development Manager, Qualex-Landmark
Madeleine is a Manager of Development for QuadReal Property group, where she focuses on advancing projects from acquisition through design, entitlements and construction. In her real estate career so far, Madeleine has held positions across asset management, investments and portfolio management in Calgary and Vancouver. Madeleine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Economics from Queen's University, is a CFA charterholder and serves on the Vancouver UDI Under 40 Committee.
Michelle Sotomayor
Corporate & Development Manager, Conwest
Michelle is Director, Development & Corporate at Conwest. Involved with development of multiple asset types, she is primarily focused on project business planning, end-to-end strategic project direction, and corporate operations. She is project lead on several multi-residential developments, while also overseeing the company’s marketing department. Michelle holds a real estate trading services license as the managing broker for in-house brokerage Vicini Realty.
Her experience in the real estate industry spans across land development, housing development, sales, marketing, and finance, joining the Conwest team in 2014. Michelle is active in the industry and community, currently mentoring through the ULI Etkin’s Scholar program as well as involved with City of Vancouver Advisory Committees to provide input for ongoing City Planning initiatives. Michelle is a graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce program from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, specializing in Real Estate.
Sean Wheeler
Vice President of Investment, Grosvenor
Sean Wheeler is Vice President of Co-Investment at Grosvenor Americas and is responsible for the management of the Structured Development Financing (SDF) business in Vancouver and Seattle.
Sean has played a key role in the expansion of the Structured Development Financing business beginning in 2014 and now leads the management of the programme in the Vancouver and Seattle. Sean began his career at Grosvenor as an intern in 2013 while completing his final year at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree specializing in Finance and Real Estate earning. Sean formally joined the Co-Investment team in 2014 and played a critical role in the set-up of the first True North Partnership in 2015.
Since joining the industry, Sean has been actively involved with the Urban Land Institute of BC (ULI BC) and recently stepped down as the Co-Chair of the Young Leaders Group (YLG). Sean is also involved with the Urban Development Institute (UDI) and has guest lectured at their School of Urban Development. Sean is also a registered sub-mortgage broker in the province of BC.
Vera Liu
Investments Director, KingSett Capital
Vera is Director, Investments KingSett Capital, a Canadian private equity real estate investment business which creates and co-invests in real estate investment solutions to deliver sustainable premium risk weighted returns. Vera is responsible for sourcing, structuring and negotiating the acquisition and disposition of real estate opportunities across Western Canada.
Founded in 2002, KingSett has raised $12.5 billion of equity for its Growth, Income, Urban, Mortgage and Affordable Housing strategies. KingSett has $16 billion of assets under management in a portfolio of $19 billion. KingSett continues to seek further opportunities to invest in a wide range of real estate properties, developments, joint ventures, and mortgage lending.
Vera holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UBC, specializing in Finance and Real Estate.
Yahel Jarus-Hakak
Operations Director, CMLS Financial
Yahel is the Associate Director overseeing operations at CMLS and works on planning and execution of business strategies. His team supports the full CMLS platform with the goal of enhancing the client experience as a connector of capital with opportunities.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2016, Yahel worked for a boutique Vancouver Real Estate Developer where he was integral in developing an acquisitions strategy and would assume many responsibilities in the small but rapidly growing firm. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in finance and real estate from the University of British Columbia.
Yosh Kasahara
Chief Operating Officer, Alabaster Group of Companies
Yosh Kasahara is Chief Operating Officer for the Alabaster Group of Companies. He has over 15 years of experience working for leading Vancouver real estate development and sales and marketing firms. In his current role, Yosh oversees development, construction, sales and marketing, and operations for Alabaster Homes. He also is Managing Director of Pavilion Cowork, a boutique flexible office space provider. Yosh holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Sauder School of Business, and is a past President of the UBC Real Estate Club.