Founder and president of Forum Equity Partners, Richard has close to 20 years of real estate experience in the areas of acquisition, development, financing and corporate services. Richard directs the firm's activities including acquisitions and development projects. He has acquired, sold and developed more than $400 million of property to date.
Richard began his real estate career in the late 1980s in the area of corporate real estate advisory and brokerage. An accomplished entrepreneur, Richard established and built a corporate real estate services and brokerage company between the years of 1996 and 2001 with offices in Toronto and Montreal. Since 2002, his focus has been to establish Forum Equity Partners as a national leader in single tenant acquisitions and development.
Richard currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Capital Development Committee of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization. He has served on the Advisory Board and chaired the Property Committee of the Salvation Army, Ontario Central Division. Richard has held various board positions in Corenet Global and its predecessor organization, IDRC. He has served as Chairman of Toronto 2003 Global Summit Inc., a non-profit economic development initiative established to promote the 2003 Corenet Global Summit in Toronto; The United Way Community Initiatives Allocations Committee; and as Chairman of the 1996 Gardiner Awards. Richard's other board positions have included The National Club and Big Brothers of Toronto.
RAMSEY ALI, Vice President and General Counsel
Ramsey Ali has joined Forum Equity Partners Inc. in the capacity of Vice President and General Counsel. Ramsey is responsible for providing counsel on transaction execution and asset management as well as the formulation of the overall strategic direction of the company. Ramsey formerly practiced law in the real estate department at Goodmans LLP where he was involved in the acquisition, disposition or development of over a billion dollars worth of real estate assets, including some high-profile mixed-use developments. Ramsey also has considerable experience in joint ventures, private equity transactions, leasing and real estate financing.
Ramsey holds an Economics degree from the University of Guelph and a JD from the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association.
ADELE IMRIE C.A., Vice President - Finance
Adele is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience in real estate tax, financing, accounting and operations. Adele is the Vice President, Finance of Forum Equity Partners and also takes an active role in tax planning and asset management functions of Forum's portfolio.
Adele joined Forum Equity Partners from a major Canadian developer where she maintained progressive positions from Controller to Vice-President, Finance. Adele held overall financial responsibility for over 6 million square feet of real estate throughout North America with a market value in excess of $400 million. Adele's experience in tax planning, corporate and project budgeting and conducting financial due diligence for major acquisitions allows her to make significant contributions to the execution of Forum's business plan.
Adele is active in the community as a volunteer in the independent school system, including 6 years on the Board of Kingsway College School holding the offices of Treasurer and Chair. She has also acted as the Chair of numerous independent school conferences, and currently sits as a member of the board of The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. Adele also sits on the Foundation Board of CODE, a national charitable organization that promotes development through literacy in Africa and the Carribean.
ANTHONY FERRARI, Senior Advisor
Anthony Ferrari joined Forum in the capacity of Senior Advisor. Anthony’s responsibilities include business development and public sector partnering across the public sector including municipalities, universities and colleges, federal and provincial governments, as well as P3/AFP’s and other strategic initiatives for the firm.
Anthony has 20 years of professional experience in business and the public sector. Prior to joining Forum, Anthony was co-founder and President of a leading infrastructure and energy consulting and project development advisory firm, where he managed the firm’s infrastructure and P3/AFP business. Anthony previously worked as an Investment Research Analyst and in Business Development roles at leading private investment management firms on Bay Street, worked as a Political Aide for the Hon. Sergio Marchi, as well as with the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien on Parliament Hill, and was a Business Instructor at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario (UWO).
Anthony has an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, MSc from the London School of Economics (LSE) and MPA from Queen's University. In addition, he has a BA from the School of Journalism at Carleton University, and studied at Harvard University and Georgetown University.
Anthony is a Member of the Advisory Council at the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management at Ivey, promoting the adoption of P3/AFP initiatives, as well as other innovative partnership structures between business and the public sector in Canada.
DONALD GEDGE, Senior Development Consultant - Arena, Stadiums and Recreation
As Senior Development Consultant, Don brings to Forum diverse industry exposure to financial services, real estate development and product development sectors. His experience in the financial services sector includes 10 years working in CEO and CFO capacities, developing new products/technologies, repositioning existing ones and driving revenues and earnings growth in niche and established markets. Over the past 15 years, as an owner and a consultant, he has become a recognized leader in the development and operation of recreation and event sports facilities.
With direct development and operating responsibilities, he has hands-on experience in all aspects of development, including defining business plans, programming, financing, design and construction, as well as practical experience with P3’s and sustainable development, including LEED.
Don has direct experience in over 20 projects valued in excess of $700M Examples of the range of projects include:
- The development of stadiums, athletics (track and field), basketball/volleyball and high performance training facilities on university campuses
- The development competitive and leisure swimming pool venues
- Event arena facilities such as the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, the John Labatt Centre in London and the Sports and Entertainment Centre in Sarnia
- Multi-pad recreation arena venues such as the Ice Gardens at York University and The Sports Village in Vaughan
Don graduated from Royal Military College with an Honours Economics and Commerce Degree and the University of Ottawa with a Masters Degree in Economics. He also has the CMA certification, the Institute of Corporate Director’s ICD.D certification and is a Reuters Insight Expert.
GREGORY KITSCHA, Associate
Greg joined Forum as a bid manager and senior analyst. In this capacity Greg works closely with Forum’s senior staff and partners structuring responsive proposals for Forum’s pursuits in social infrastructure. In addition, Greg provides financial and strategic analysis support in areas of P3, asset management and development.
Greg has 10 years of industry experience in the fields of engineering, design and construction. project management and real estate development. He received bachelor degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Life Science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and is actively pursuing an MBA through the Schulich School of Business and a CFA designation. Greg is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario.
WANDA SZAJNOCHA, Executive Assistant/Office Manager
Wanda’s career began in Welland, Ontario as a legal assistant, and after moving to Toronto, enjoyed a more than 20 year career at two of Canada’s largest law firms and a boutique litigation/insolvency law firm in Toronto. She joined Forum in November, 2000 as an Executive Assistant/Office Manager. Wanda is responsible for the overall day to day operations of the firm. Wanda is an active member of Young Presidents’ Assistants and has volunteered for Sick Children’s Hospital, Fashion Cares (ACT) and the MS Society.
JANET ZEMAITIS, Accountant
Janet joined Forum as assistant to the Controller. In this role she is actively involved in all aspects of the financial and management accounting functions. Janet has over 20 years experience in financial statement preparation and analysis and previously worked in financial planning in the operations division of a major Canadian bank. Janet received her Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and holds the CMA certification.
CORINNE BRAZEAU, Bid Administrator
Corinne joins Forum as a bid administrator, to assist in the preparation and delivery of Proposal responses for Forum and its partners' project pursuits. She will work closely with the development team, providing both administrative support and additional capacity in proposal development. Corinne holds a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University and a graduate degree from The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She is active in the local community, providing Volunteer Tutoring for grade school children in a range of subjects, including French.
