2012 CanaData Conference Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: JESSICA HOLMES

Jessica Holmes, a favourite on CBC TV's Royal Canadian Air Farce, has brought the house down opening for such comedians as Jerry Seinfeld and Leslie Nielsen. She is Canada's fastest rising comedy star and always leaves audiences in stitches with her interactive humour and vivacious energy. She recently performed in two televised comedy specials at Just for Laughs and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.

Jessica's one-hour comedy special, “Holmes Alone” won a 2001 Platinum Award at the Worldfest International Film Festival and was nominated for a Gemini Award. Her work on the Second City production “The Best of the Very Last” earned her a nomination for the prestigious Tim Sims Scholarship. Jessica is also known for her work on The Comedy Network and CTV’s hilarious, edgy, Carol Burnett-style sketch comedy, The Holmes Show. She has appeared in such films as Welcome to Mooseport and Citizen Duane. Additionally, Jessica’s motivational comedy publication, I Love Your Laugh, was published in October 2010.

Jessica's comedic high jinks and crazy antics, her knack for skewering celebrities such as Céline Dion and Britney Spears, along with her original creations, amuse even the most straight-faced audiences. Her grace, bilingualism, and ability to react on the fly make her a natural choice for M.C. Whether hosting or performing her hilarious characters, Jessica always leaves the audience in stitches. Most recently, Jessica opened for Oprah Winfrey in Toronto.

Recently, Jessica received her Life Coach certification from San Diego's “Life Purpose Institute." Also a mental health speaker, Jessica speaks on her own experiences dealing with post-partum depression, also touched on in I Love Your Laugh, in a way that only she can do – with unique character, intelligence and humanity.

STUART BARRON, CA, National Director of Research | Director, Real Estate Finance | Canadian Markets, Cushman & Wakefield Ltd.

As National Director of Research, Mr. Barron oversees the collection and dissemination of research information for Canadian markets and is supported by a research team in each of the major markets. As a specialist in the office markets, Mr. Barron provides expertise in the area of market analytics, changing market conditions and the potential implications on real estate decisions. Cushman & Wakefield prides itself on the depth of its market intelligence, as evidenced by Mr. Barron’s private and public speaking engagements, focused on changing market dynamics within the office, industrial and investment markets.

Mr. Barron also holds the role of Director, Real Estate Finance. Mr. Barron provides expertise and training to sales representatives and analysts across Canada and manages some of the more complicated transactions, such as multiple-premises consolidation assignments. Mr. Barron designed and co-developed Cushman & Wakefield’s proprietary financial software, used to analyze office and industrial leasing transactions across Canadian markets. Through both market analytics and real estate finance, Mr. Barron distinguishes himself with a firm understanding of real estate markets.

Mr. Barron graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor in Economics and has achieved the designation of Chartered Accountant.

RYAN BERLIN, Economic and Housing Market Analyst

Having originally joined Urban Futures in 2004, Ryan Berlin re-joined the firm in 2009 after spending two years living and working in London, England. Ryan holds a BA (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University and an MA in Economics from the University of British Columbia. During his time at UBC, Ryan developed and taught courses on both micro- and macroeconomics.

Ryan has been active in economic and demographic research - he is the research leader in housing market and economic analysis at Urban Futures. In addition, Ryan provides expert analysis of established and emerging demographic and economic trends and their implications for communities, businesses, individuals, and government. He has contributed to a number of publications and authored a number of reports on varying subjects including economic sustainability, forecasting in BC health care, future challenges of the aging population, demographic harmonization and population growth in Canada.

Knowledgeable and insightful while speaking to groups in a number of industries, Ryan is an authority on change and how to effectively manage the changes in the economy and demographic landscape to best advantage. He easily calls on his own research to address issues that affect audiences and the communities they live in - comfortably explaining real estate trends and housing demands, land use, employment structure and Canadian demography.

Ryan's audiences have included the Association of Professional Economists of British Columbia, the British Columbia Association of Institutes and Univeristies, the Vancouver Board of Trade and a number of real estate boards, health care economics focus groups builder associations and economic development organizations.

ALEX CARRICK, Chief Economist, CanaData

Alex Carrick carried out his undergraduate work at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada), then completed an M.A. in Economics and the first year towards a Doctorate at the University of Toronto. The pull of the job market was too great and Alex went to work for the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) in 1972. The CISC is a trade association representing structural steel fabricators in Canada. Mr. Carrick eventually became the Secretary-treasurer as well as the Economist for the CISC.

Since 1985, Mr. Carrick has held the position of Chief Economist with CanaData, a product line of Reed Construction Data, where he has acquired an in-depth knowledge of the Canadian construction industry.

Each fall, Mr. Carrick oversees CanaData’s Annual Construction Forecast publication and updates the information throughout the year in the CanaData Forecaster newsletter (monthly). He is often quoted in the media, especially in the two construction newspapers, The Daily Commercial News and the Journal of Commerce. In the last several years, his work has become more international in scope and he has delivered presentations throughout North America on the Canadian, United States and world construction outlooks.

CanaData is the leading supplier of statistics and forecasting information for the Canadian construction industry. CanaData’s extensive line of products includes CanaData Construction Starts Statistics; Architect and Engineer Activity Reports; Custom Reports; Annual Forecast; CanaData Forecaster Newsletter; Construction Cost Index; and Annual Construction Forecasts Conference. Reed Construction Data is a division of the global publishing firm, Reed Elsevier.

MARK CASALETTO, Vice President and General Manager, Reed Construction Data

Mark Casaletto has over 15 years leadership experience in the industry. Mark is an active speaker at industry events, providing insight and intelligence on economics and the state of the Canadian construction industry.

Prior to joining Reed Construction Data, Mark served as director of sales and marketing for Embanet Corporation, where he was responsible for an annual budget of $20 million and expansion into the U.S. and global markets. He also held a position as the Canadian director for sales and marketing with McGraw-Hill Construction in Canada where he was the leading force in relaunching and repositioning several key products in the Canadian market.

Since joining Reed Construction Data Canada in 2005, Mark has enhanced its web presence as a respected and popular Canadian source for construction news, project data, and building product information. Mark’s goal to reach out to the industry resulted in several key partnerships within the professional design and trade organizations. These partnerships ensure that Reed Construction Data Canada’s products and services continue to meet the highest standards of excellence and that Reed reaches the key decision makers in every sector of the industry.

PETER HALL, Vice President and Chief Economist, EDC

Peter Hall joined EDC in November 2004. He has over 20 years of experience in domestic and international economic analysis and forecasting. In addition to advising senior management at EDC, Mr. Hall is a featured speaker at conferences across the country, and regularly appears in television, radio and print media commenting on recent economic developments and implications for the outlook.

Mr. Hall is immediate past president of the Ottawa Economics Association, a 300-member local association of professional economists, and has served on the board of the Canadian Association for Business Economics. Mr. Hall has degrees in economics from Carleton University and the University of Toronto.

DINA IGNJATOVIC, Economist, Autos, Commodities and Other Industries, TD Bank Financial Group

Based in Toronto, Dina Ignjatovic joined the Economics department at TD Bank Financial Group in September 2007. Her chief responsibilities include analyzing and forecasting the auto sector, commodities and other industries. Dina also contributes to a wide variety of TD publications and is frequently quoted by the media on various economic issues. Dina holds an M.A. degree in Business Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and a B.Comm degree from the University of Guelph, where she majored in Management Economics in Industry and Finance.

PETER NORMAN, Chief Economist, Altus Group and General Manager, Altus Group Economic Consulting

Peter Norman is a well-known professional land economist and forecaster and is Senior Director, Economic Consulting, at Altus Group. Widely quoted in the Canadian media, Mr. Norman is a frequent expert witness on economic matters and consults for private and public sector organizations across Canada, providing economic intelligence and strategic advice.

Mr. Norman earned a BA at Trent University and an MA at the University of Guelph, sits on the Executive Committee of the Toronto Association of Business and Economics, the Economic Research Committeee of the Canadian Home Builders’s Association and is a member of the Association of Ontario Land Economists.