Real Estate Career Stories

Explore the diverse paths into real estate through this collection of real-life career journeys within the real estate industry.

Property Accountant

JLL

Michael Cameron

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Property Accountant, JLL

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Property Accountant, JLL

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I completed a post-university diploma back home (Romania) in Financial management and Accounting, that gave me the opportunity when moved here to catch up on a couple of CGA classes and finalize my level 4. Unfortunately I quit CGA because they transitioned to CPA too fast for me, and I was just having Evelyn back then. So this was it for my schooling, once with Manulife I started the Financial Proficiency in Property Management thru BOMI but with the busy schedule I haven’t finished yet. 

Back home I worked as an accountant for approx. 3 years, When I moved here from Romania I worked as a multi tasking office person for an Engineering Company, then I was an Ap person and I knew wanted more and applied for the Manulife job which in the beginning was more like a Property administrator role. I can say I was lucky Manulife - Lori back then, Charles and Pete believed in me, I was really excited for the opportunity they gave me and kept growing and taking on more responsibility, and I am still here after 12 years 😊

Director, Tax Consultant – Altus

Michael Cameron

I went to the University of Guelph and graduated in ’09 with a B.COMM and major in Real Estate and Housing Management. At the time it was just 1 of 2 universities in Canada that offered undergraduate real estate studies. The economy was not great when I graduated due to the ‘07/’08 financial crisis so I moved out West with some buddies after graduation. That led to a contract gig at BC Assessment where I thought I might want to become an appraiser. In 2011 I was eager to get into the private sector and I landed a job at Altus Group in Calgary as a property tax analyst. They hired another Guelph RE grad and have since hired 2 more. My education background helped give me the toolbox to jump right into the role and be successful compared to other business graduates. I have been with Altus for 12 years managing tax appeals for a wide variety of clients from small business owners to large pension funds. Our work helps our clients, and their tenants reduce their operating costs by ensuring they are paying only their fair share of property taxes. When I look to hire new analysts, someone with a similar education background as me is a huge asset. 

Property Accountant, JLL

Title

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Property Accountant – JLL

Well…. I completed a post-university diploma back home (Romania) in Financial management and Accounting, that gave me the opportunity when moved here to catch up on a couple of CGA classes and finalize my level 4. Unfortunately I quit CGA because they transitioned to CPA too fast for me, and I was just having Evelyn back then. So this was it for my schooling, once with Manulife I started the Financial Proficiency in Property Management thru BOMI but with the busy schedule I haven’t finished yet. 

Back home I worked as an accountant for approx. 3 years, When I moved here from Romania I worked as a multi tasking office person for an Engineering Company, then I was an Ap person and I knew wanted more and applied for the Manulife job which in the beginning was more like a Property administrator role. I can say I was lucky Manulife - Lori back then, Charles and Pete believed in me, I was really excited for the opportunity they gave me and kept growing and taking on more responsibility, and I am still here after 12 years 😊 

I hope this can help you and it definitely helped me to remember how much I grew and learned thru all these years. 

– Lavinia Taschner 

Director, Tax Consultant – Altus

I went to the University of Guelph and graduated in ’09 with a B.COMM and major in Real Estate and Housing Management. At the time it was just 1 of 2 universities in Canada that offered undergraduate real estate studies. The economy was not great when I graduated due to the ‘07/’08 financial crisis so I moved out West with some buddies after graduation. That led to a contract gig at BC Assessment where I thought I might want to become an appraiser. In 2011 I was eager to get into the private sector and I landed a job at Altus Group in Calgary as a property tax analyst. They hired another Guelph RE grad and have since hired 2 more. My education background helped give me the toolbox to jump right into the role and be successful compared to other business graduates. I have been with Altus for 12 years managing tax appeals for a wide variety of clients from small business owners to large pension funds. Our work helps our clients, and their tenants reduce their operating costs by ensuring they are paying only their fair share of property taxes. When I look to hire new analysts, someone with a similar education background as me is a huge asset. 

– Michael Cameron 

Director, Security & Life Safety, Canadian Office Division – Brookfield Properties

I started my career back in 1985 shortly after the Olympics ended as a Security Guard at Sun Life Plaza (now Ampersand). I worked my way up the Organization and was made the Security Manager about 4 years after I started. I quickly realized that to advance my career further I was competing against people with experience and retiring Police Officers. Thus to stay competitive I felt I needed training and went to the University of Calgary and obtained a Security Management Certificate and a Risk Management Certificate. I also spent a lot of time volunteering so that I could learn from peers but also because of the opportunities it presented for working with others. I spent 20 years at Sun Life Plaza before I moved over to Brookfield because they had a level of security leadership that did not exist with my current employer. After a year and a half with Brookfield I was promoted to that role and have been there ever since. That has been 17 years. 

 

– Parnell Lea

Director, Sustainability & Risk Management - ONE Properties

Coming from a family that is a few generations deep in Canada’s building engineering and construction industry, I was interested in buildings from a young age (mostly how they fell apart and how to fix/build them better). While studying International Development at University (mix of economics, science and geography), I was introduced to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and the notion of how a company could be held accountable by investors to make the world a better place. The principles seemed well-aligned with the direction real estate was headed and since then, my career has focused on property and corporate-level innovation and optimization in the commercial real estate industry. Sustainability is now a business fundamental and regular, validated reporting is critical to attracting and retaining investments and bright, talented people. 

  

As part of my role, I am responsible for the creation and implementation of ONE’s sustainability platform for assets under development and management, establishing standard ESG policies, and managing the impact on our stakeholders, alongside our leadership team. As for Risk Management, I help identify and implement quality control protocols, and promote risk and resilience measures for property development and management. My role also involves strategic partnership support and working on global real estate standardization initiatives to keep ONE at the forefront of the industry. 

– Graham Halsall

Building Operator – JLL Canada

My industry story i based around friendships. I moved to Calgary in 2008 and was looking for any old job I could find. I met a buddy through my sister and he offered me a maintenance job within his company. I had no idea managing/maintaining properties was an industry I could even work in. 
 

I was at the company for the next 12 or so years, taking on various roles and responsibilities. My last title was Maintenance Supervisor. I have been back to school to get my 5th class Power Engineering Certificate, completed it in 2009. From there I moved onto Manulife Real Estate, who then transferred me to JLL and I am a Building Operator. It is a lot of fun maintaining a building and interacting with tenants daily and getting to know all the systems of the building you work in. 

– Andrew Buck

Assistant Property Manager, JLL Canada

I somewhat fell into this industry by accident as I was in Oil and Gas for over 10 years, after a brief time off from work due to my husband at the time working out of town I ventured back into the workforce and happened to get a job as a receptionist with Manulife.  This job, while being reception, was also involved with the drafting of lease documents which I had a huge knowledge base of from my previous career as a Legal Professional and Land Administrator in the Oil and Gas field.  Over the next 9-10 years with Manulife I worked my way through various positions of Property Administrator, Assistant Property Manager and a Sustainability Advocate which garnered me awards both internally within Manulife as well as for my work with BOMA certifications and TOBY Awards.  I have attended BOMI for a number of years and completed my RPA designation during the COVID-19 pandemic when my role went from being on the front line meeting tenants and going to site meetings to having teams meetings online and engaging with our tenants in alternative methods.  My niche during my tenure with Manulife seemed to evolve to roofing and so I was tasked with roof replacement capital jobs on both our industrial properties and office towers, I was lucky enough to have a wonderful mentor in this field who taught me a lot about what to look for and how roof jobs operated and even climbing a ladder to the top of an industrial building so that I could see first hand what the issues were.  I have always loved my job and the variety of work it brings and the development of programs such as sustainability and making sure that companies are cognizant of how we affect this environment while also making sure our properties are well functioning and efficient for our tenants and owners. 

– Nikki Sincovich
 

Property Accountant

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