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Principal of Timbercreek REIT Ugo Bizzarri is a founding partner of Timbercreek Asset Management Inc. and holds the title of CFO and Vice-President, Acquisitions. Since the inception of the Timbercreek real estate Funds in 2000, Mr. Bizzarri has directed the acquisitions of greater than $600 million worth of multi-residential real estate for these Funds comprising of over 6000 units across 8 cities. Mr. Bizzarri’s is responsible for broker negotiations, underwriting, and structuring the financing for all Timbercreek multi-residential acquisitions. Mr. Bizzarri is also a Trustee for Timbercreek REIT, and a Credit Committee member for the Timbercreek Mortgage Investment Fund.
Prior to founding Timbercreek, Mr. Bizzarri was in portfolio management at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“OTPPB”) where he played a leadership role in the strategic planning, corporate transactions / restructuring and property acquisitions for the Real Estate Group of OTPPB. Mr. Bizzarri has been involved as a negotiator and manager in approximately $20 billion worth of real estate transactions in the last ten years. Mr. Bizzarri is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Andrew Jones is VP, Financing and Debt Origination of Timbercreek Asset Management Inc. Mr. Jones’ primary responsibilities managing the Timbercreek Mortgage Investment Fund as well as originating and structuring debt and warehouse facilities for the Timbercreek real estate Funds. Prior to joining Timbercreek, Mr. Jones co-founded Canadian Mortgage Strategies & Investments (“CMSI”) a commercial mortgage brokerage firm with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver, that places approximately $800 million in mortgage capital annually. Mr. Jones also opened and managed the Toronto office of Canada ICI Commercial Mortgages before the company was sold to MCAP Inc. and held the positions of Vice-President, Finance at Residential Equities REIT and Vice-President Finance - Dundee Realty Corporation. Mr. Jones is also a Trustee of Timbercreek REIT and a Member of the Credit Committee for the Timbercreek Mortgage Investment Fund. Andrew is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and has worked in the commercial real estate and mortgage business for over 15 years.
Corrado Russo is Vice President at Citigroup Property Investors, where he is the Portfolio Manager for the Global Real Estate Securities Fund as well as the US REIT Fund. Mr. Russo has an extensive background in the investment management field, having held positions in portfolio management, equity research and direct real estate investments. Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Russo was the lead portfolio manager for the Empire Dividend Growth Fund. He has also held positions with the OTTPB, where he was responsible for direct real estate acquisitions. Mr. Russo's capital markets experience stems from equity research positions at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Investors Group. Corrado Russo has his Master in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Chris Slightham is the President of Royal Lepage Signature Real Estate Brokerage, the largest residential Royal Lepage office in Canada. Since buying the Royal Lepage franchise and merging it with Slightham Realty in 2001, the business has tripled in size by volume, and now employs over 200 individuals. Prior to 2001, Mr. Slightham managed Slightham Realty, a diversified family owned real estate company founded in 1965. As well as offering prestige brokerage services through Slightham Realty, the Slightham family has built and maintained a portfolio of multi-family residential properties since the 1960's, and developed a distinct property management business to manage both their portfolio and those of other investors. As a result, Mr. Slightham brings with him extensive experience with multi-family residential real estate management, and the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act. Mr. Slightham attended Ryerson Business School and sits on the Board of Governors of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
Scott Morrison is a Senior Portfolio Manager with Empire Financial where he is the Lead Portfolio Manager for the Empire Small Cap Fund and Empire Global Smaller Companies fund. Prior to joining Empire, Scott has also held Lead Portfolio Management positions for Canadian and Global equity mutual funds at Investors Group from December 2000 to March 2003 and CI Funds from 1997 to December 2000. Scott began his professional investment career as an investment analyst at Mackenzie Financial in 1994. He has his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a Bachelors of Commerce degree from Concordia University in Montreal in 1994.