REIT reveals new trustees and retirement of longtime member
BTB Real Estate Investment Trust (BTB) has elected a new slate of trustees and announced the departure of a long-standing board member and investment committee leader.
The REIT's unitholders elected nine trustees nominated in the Management Information Circular. The elected trustees are Jocelyn Proteau, Jean-Pierre Janson, Luc Martin, Sylvie Lachance, Lucie Ducharme, Christine Marchildon, Armand Des Rosiers, Sylvain Fortier, and Michel Léonard.
Among the new trustees, Fortier (pictured) stands out with over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate investment and strategic portfolio management.
Fortier's background includes 18 years in executive positions at Ivanhoé Cambridge/CDPQ, where he served as chief investment and innovation officer. He has also held board positions with Gecina, a major French REIT, and Otéra Capital, a leading Canadian commercial mortgage lender.
BTB also announced the retirement of Fernand Perreault, a trustee and the president of the Investment Committee. Perreault has been a member of BTB’s board of trustees since 2010.
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BTB acknowledged Perreault's significant contributions to the REIT's development and success over the past 14 years.
"[I’m] sad to see him leave us now, but I understand his decision and I respect it,” Proteau said in the REIT’s press release. “I will end by saying a huge thank you to him for his tremendous contribution, wishing him all the health that will give him several years of sharing his great wisdom with others."
Michel Léonard, president and CEO of BTB, added, "Fernand brought us rigor and an understanding of portfolio management, which includes the periodic evaluation of assets and their positioning." Léonard further stated, "Wise men in real estate are quite rare, and I greatly appreciated our collaboration. Once again, thank you, Fernand. You are a great man in Canadian real estate."
As of the announcement, BTB owns and manages 75 properties, representing a total leasable area of approximately 6.1 million square feet across Canada. The REIT focuses on industrial, suburban office, and necessity-based retail properties.
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