People Who Perform - The Real Estate Careers Podcast

Sarah has spent her entire career within one organization, progressing from coordinator to executive leadership. Today, she sits at the center of some of the most important conversations in business — leadership development, succession planning, culture transformation, and building organizations that perform over the long term.  But this conversation goes beyond career progression. Sarah brings a...

In this episode, James Ashley welcomes Dean Holmes, Senior Vice President of Residential Operations at QuadReal Property Group. Dean is one of North America's most experienced residential operations leaders, with more than 25 years of experience building and scaling multifamily platforms across Canada and the United States. At QuadReal, he's been instrumental in designing and launching a...

In this episode, host Richard Costello welcomes Michael Brimer, Vice President of Construction at Townline. Michael leads Townline’s construction division, overseeing commercial and residential projects throughout Western Canada. With more than 25 years of experience across North America, his background includes healthcare, education, community spaces, and sports facilities. Key topics include: A...

In this episode, host Richard Costello is joined by Rudy Uhl, Research Analyst at CBRE, and Maria Weaver, Director of Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion at Canadian Mental Health Association - British Columbia.  Rudy brings an economics background from the University of Bonn and plays a key role in supporting CBRE’s brokerage teams through research and market insight. Alongside his work in comm...

In this episode, host Nicola Denning-Millar is joined by Nhung Nguyen, CEO of Horizon Legacy — a leader at the forefront of innovation in construction and housing delivery in Canada. With over 17 years of experience across infrastructure, renewable energy, and development, Nhung is now driving Horizon Legacy’s shift toward robotics-enabled housing — using automation and advanced technology to tack...

Eric has spent over a decade at First Capital , building his career across leasing, portfolio management, and now national operations. In his current role, Head of National Operations , he oversees property management and operational delivery across one of Canada’s largest retail real estate platforms, 178 properties, more than 21 million square feet, and a team of over 130 people across 17 office...

In this episode, Nicola, James, and Richard come together for a HighView roundtable to break down insights from the newly released 2026 Real Estate Compensation Guide. Built on survey data from across the Canadian real estate industry and informed by what HighView is seeing every day with clients and candidates, the conversation explores how compensation, hiring, and career movement are evolving i...

In this episode of The Real Estate Careers Podcast, host Richard Costello welcomes Tiffany Duzita, Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at RCG Group. Tiffany has spent her career working across a wide range of environments, giving her a broad perspective on how projects are shaped, financed, and delivered. From large public companies to private developers, non-profit housing organization...

In this episode, host Richard Costello welcomes Jeff Kennedy , Chief Financial Officer at Troika Developments. Jeff has built a diverse career in real estate, starting in brokerage before moving into asset management and investments at Troika, where he became CFO in late 2024. Based in Kelowna, Jeff brings insight on leadership, finance, and growth in one of Canada’s most dynamic regional markets....

 In this episode, host James Ashley welcomes Marlee Kohn , Vice President of ESG at Starlight Investments. Marlee has spent over 14 years at the intersection of real estate and sustainability, building a career focused on driving meaningful change in how the industry approaches environmental, social, and governance priorities. From her early work at Oxford Properties to her current leadership role...

In this episode, host Richard Costello welcomes John Brendan McEown , Chief Executive Officer of the Burnaby Housing Authority. John Brendan (JB) has been a leader in affordable housing for over a decade. As Associate Vice President of Development Strategies at BC Housing, he guided a team of professionals delivering thousands of homes across the province. With a Master of Urban Studies from Simon...

Todd Spencer joins Nicola Denning-Millar to share his journey from television to the world of residential property management. With extensive international experience in Europe and Asia, Todd has a unique perspective on the rental housing market in Canada. His career spans several years in property management, and his insights have shaped his approach to improving the industry, from tenant satisfa...

Richard Costello welcomes Edward Chang, VP Investments and Real Estate at Silverbirch Hotels. Edward’s career spans over a decade of hotel investment, underwriting, and asset management across North America and Europe, with experience at firms like Goldman Sachs, SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts, Sonder, and American Hotel Income Properties REIT. He has played a key role in high-profile transactio...

In this episode, host Richard Costello welcomes Barrett Sprowson, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Peterson, to discuss how sales leaders can navigate challenging market cycles with data-driven strategies and leadership experience. Barrett has been at the forefront of real estate sales and marketing in Vancouver, with a track record of $2 billion in revenue and 3,500+ units sold. Wi...

Richard Costello connects with Adam Mitchell. Adam is VP Asset Management and Development at Low Tide Properties responsible for the strategic direction and financial performance of a diverse portfolio of properties in emerging neighbourhoods in Vancouver and Seattle.  In this conversation, we’ll learn more about: What first drew Adam to studying real estate at UBC His early career days as an Anal...

Richard Costello connects with Jennica Palecek. An industry rising star, Jennica is a Commercial Real Estate Advisor at Colliers Vancouver, specializing in office leasing.  A graduate of the Beedie school of business, Jennica has a double major in business and economics and prior to starting her brokerage career, completed internships in finance and held roles in retail banking and property manage...

Richard Costello connects with Cindy MacMillan.   Cindy MacMillan is currently VP Investments at Grosvenor in Vancouver, responsible for leading the groups transit-oriented development sites delivering 3 million square feet of mixed-use multi-family rental & commercial property in Metro Vancouver. Cindy has close to two decades of commercial real estate experience with a strong background in f...

Richard Costello connects with David Basche. David Basche is the President of Astria Properties in Langley, BC and is focused on the strategic growth of the business and oversees the company’s day to day operations.  Prior to Astria, David spent a decade specializing in development and acquisitions for one of Vancouver’s leading real estate developers, Bosa Properties.  In this conversation we’ll...

James Ashley connects with Jeff Ranson. With a focus on market transformation in the building industry, Jeff has worked for a number of leading organizations over the past 15 years. This includes the Canada Green Building Council, Building Owners and Managers Association of Toronto, and now Northcrest Developments. Jeff has also participated in a number of public advisory roles -  including the Wa...

Nicola Denning-Millar connects with Heather Tremain. Heather is a city builder with a passion for social purpose real estate and sustainable development. Since joining Options for Homes, Heather has been a champion of affordable homeownership and has helped achieve change to both public policy and funding in support of this segment of the housing spectrum. Prior to her role as CEO, she founded and...

Richard Costello connects with Claudia Leung. Claudia is currently a Manager, Real Estate with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and has over 19 years of progressive experience in both institutional and entrepreneurial settings.  Her diverse background includes roles in property management, leasing, asset management and investments across a myriad of asset types from retail, office, hospitality,...

Richard Costello connects with Brandi Cooper Brandi is currently the Director, Property Management with Warrington Residential, responsible for overseeing a growing portfolio of purpose built rental buildings located throughout the Lower Mainland. Brandi has been immersed in residential property management for close to 15 years, starting out managing portfolios of individual units on behalf of inv...

Richard Costello connects with Audrey Powell.    At the Real Estate Forum 2022, Audrey was awarded the Young Leader of the Year Award.   Audrey is currently a Leasing Manager for Aspen Properties in Edmonton, responsible for overseeing the leasing of three downtown office towers.  Audrey started her career in 2014 working as a tenant coordinator with one of the largest private retail landlords in...

Nicola Denning-Millar connects with Cheryl Gray.  Cheryl's real estate career spans over 40 years and she has experience in management of all major asset classes, having worked for several leading RE firms in a senior leadership capacity.   Her focus over the past 15 years has been on ESG, prop tech, smart buildings, cyber security and pandemic response planning. She specializes in implementa...

Richard Costello connects with Tracy McEvoy. Tracy is the Director, Maple Leaf Self Storage responsible for the development and management of 15 self-storage facilities comprising over 1.7 million square feet with over 17,000 tenants as well as a commercial office portfolio.  During Tracy’s career in the real estate industry spanning over three decades, she has managed operations and leasing for s...