Governance
UBC Properties Trust has its own Board of Directors to govern its rental housing and development activities. Governance for Institutional projects is coordinated through UBC’s Vice President of Finance & Operations.
Pursuant to the University Act and the Municipalities Enabling & Validating Act, the UBC Board of Governors provides governance for all academic and non-institutional development activity on campus.
UBC Properties Investments Ltd. is the trustee of UBC Properties Trust. The trustee operates with a Board of Directors comprising ten outside directors and four members of the UBC Administration. The outside Directors are chosen to represent knowledge and expertise of relevant real estate development practices.
Members of the Board of Directors also comprise other committees that govern the operation of UBC Properties Trust. The Compensation Committee review and approve all senior-level compensation packages, including the CEO. The Audit Committee ensures that proper systems and controls are in place to record transactions and safeguard assets accurately. They convene at least twice a year to review and consider significant audit and accounting issues of UBC Properties Trust.
UBC Properties Trust is committed to the highest possible standards of ethical, moral and legal business conduct. In line with this commitment and to enhance open communication, our Whistleblower Policy aims to provide a confidential avenue to report unlawful activity to a third-party entity with the authority to take remedial action.
Photo: Martin Dee
Robert H. Lee CM, OBC
Founding Chair: 1988-2011, Director: 2011-2018
Mr. Lee graduated from UBC in 1956 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. In 1966 he co-founded Wall Financial Corporation, and in 1979 he branched out on his own and founded Prospero International Realty.
He served on UBC’s Board of Governors in the mid-1980s and was appointed to a term as Chancellor of UBC in 1993. Bob’s support was instrumental in creating the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. In 1990, he was appointed the Order of British Columbia and in 1999, the Order of Canada. More recently, the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre is named after him as one of UBC’s most exemplary alums.
Bob considered the founding of UBC Properties Trust as the most outstanding achievement of his career, as it is a gift that keeps on giving with the growth of the endowment and the community. Mr. Lee passed in February 2020.
Board of Directors
Carol Lee - Acting Co-Chair
Carol Anne Lee is chair and co-founder of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation. With long standing family ties to the history of Chinatown, she is strongly committed to the revitalization of the area. She serves on several other boards and organizations including the Harvard Business School Canadian Advisory Board, the Faculty Advisory Board of Sauder Business School, Governor General David Johnston’s Rideau Hall Foundation and is chair of the Rideau Hall Foundation Innovation Committee. She is the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia.
Al Poettcker - Acting Co-Chair
Al Poettcker is a lifetime resident of Vancouver. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1969 with a degree in Urban Land from the Faculty of Commerce. Since then, Al has been very active in real estate development, investment and property management. He started his career with Marathon Realty and over the last 45 years has been responsible for a variety of large scale residential, commercial and land development projects including the land assembly for Expo '86. He is also a Past President of the UBC Alumni Association and a founding director of UBC Properties Trust.
Gage Averill
Gage Averill is the Provost and VP Academic at UBC. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Averill served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at UBC, 2010-2022. Dr. Averill, a renowned ethnomusicologist whose research in Haitian popular music has earned him several awards, joined UBC in 2010 after holding positions as Vice-Principal, Academic, and Dean for the University of Toronto, Mississauga campus, and also Dean of Music at UofT. Prior to that, he served as Chair of the Department of Music at New York University. He received his B.A and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington.
Avtar Bains
Avtar is the President of Premise Properties, a real estate investment and services company based in Vancouver. Prior to establishing Premise Properties, Avtar spent over thirty years with Colliers International, most recently as Executive Vice President, National Investment Team. In addition to his Board position with UBC Properties Trust, Avtar currently holds three other Board and advisory positions with British Pacific Properties, Morguard North American Residential REIT and Aspen Properties respectively.
Brad Bennett
Brad Bennett is President of McIntosh Properties Ltd., a real estate and private equity investment company in Kelowna, B.C. Past public service positions include Chairman of BC Hydro, MITACS, University of British Columbia, Okanagan University College, Kelowna General Hospital Foundation and Rotary Centre for the Arts Building Committee. Mr. Bennett was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019 for his community involvement in and philanthropic commitment to improving the Okanagan Valley’s educational and medical landscapes. He is a member of the BC Business Laureates Hall of Fame Cabinet and was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service in 2012. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of British Columbia. In 2010, Mr. Bennett was awarded the Order of British Columbia and in 2007 received an honorary Alumni Award from the University of British Columbia. More recently in 2022, Mr. Bennett was invested in to the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian order.
Andrew Bibby
Andrew Bibby was appointed to the Grosvenor Americas Board in 2009. He joined Grosvenor in 1984 and became Chief Executive of Grosvenor Americas in 2009. During this time, he has been involved with the acquisition, development and management of all property types and has worked in Vancouver, Calgary and San Francisco. He is currently a Director of Canadian Western Bank, Rugby Canada and UBC Properties Trust. He has served as a past Director of the Real Property Association of Canada and is a former member of the Sauder Business School Advisory Board.
Sandra Cawley
Sandra has been a real estate appraiser and development consultant since 1981. She was a principal at Burgess Cawley Sullivan & Associates and is now a Regional Leader at Ryan ULC. Ms. Cawley specializes in real estate valuation, marketing studies, and development consultancy in the residential, office, shopping centre, industrial park, land subdivision, and hotel markets.
Robin Ciceri
Robin Ciceri is Vice-President, External Relations at The University of British Columbia. In her role, Robin leads UBC’s communications, campus and community planning, government relations and broad-based engagement with communities. Before joining UBC, Robin was the President of The Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia. Previous to this, Robin held a number of BC Government leadership positions including Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, Deputy Minister of Human Resources, Deputy Minister of Small Business and Revenue and CEO of the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat.
Lesley Cormac
Professor Cormack is the Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UBC Okanagan. Professor Cormack joined UBC in July 2020 from the University of Alberta where she served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 2010 to 2020. Previously, Professor Cormack was Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University from 2007 to 2010 and, earlier, taught at the University of Alberta in the Department of History and Classics for 17 years. An historian of early modern science, Professor Cormack specializes in geography and mathematics of 16th century England and holds an academic appointment as Professor of History in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences on the Okanagan campus. She earned both her PhD and Master of Arts from the University of Toronto where she studied history and philosophy of science and technology.
Robert Fung
Robert Fung has been active in Vancouver's real estate development since 1990. Mr. Fung began his career as a Development Manager with Concord Pacific Developments, and was responsible for rezoning and development of the former "Expo 86" site in Vancouver. After seven years with Concord Pacific, Mr. Fung became Director of Development with the Narland Group where he was responsible for all aspects of the residential development process. He is the founder and President of the Salient Group, which focuses on the creation and restoration vibrant communities in urban environments. His recent projects include the restoration of the historic Flack Block adjacent to Vancouver's Victory Square, and the former Grand and Terminus hotels on Water Street.
Yale Loh
Yale Loh is the Interim VP, Finance and Operations at UBC. Yale has over 25 years of capital markets and corporate experience. He joined UBC from Aritzia, where he served as Treasurer and previously held senior roles with Finning International and Capital Power Corporation, along with progressively senior financial positions with BC Hydro, including five years as Treasurer. Yale currently serves his community as a member of the Finance Committee of the Board at West Point Grey Academy. He was previously a member of the United Way of the Lower Mainland Campaign Cabinet and a member of the Board of Directors of the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver Foundation. Yale is a commerce graduate from UBC and earned a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Yale also holds his Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Professional Accountant designations.
Anne McMullin
Anne McMullin is the President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute (UDI). Previously she was the President and General Manager of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. Before that, Ms. McMullin was Director of Communications at Port Metro Vancouver, President of the BC Salmon Farmers' Association, a reporter for Global TV in Vancouver, and a reporter and broadcaster for Mountain FM in Squamish. Anne is a Board Member with BC's Knowledge Network, a Trustee with the Jack Webster Foundation Excellence in Journalism, Vice Chair of Field Hockey Canada, President of West Vancouver Field Hockey Club, and is a volunteer with many other community organizations. Ms. McMullin studied political science at the University of British Columbia, and holds a journalism diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Anne received the 2017 BCIT Distinguished Alumni award.
Dan Walsh
Dan retired from the Grosvenor Group in 2007 after 28 years, most recently as President of Grosvenor Capital in Vancouver. Currently Dan is President of Threshold Developments undertaking development projects in British Columbia and, with partners, has established a fund to invest in existing projects in Arizona and the Western United States. Dan was a Director of the Urban Development Institute for 9 years.
Randy Zien
Randy was the Chair of UBC Properties Trust from 2012 – 2021. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of Persis Holdings and from 1998 to 2008 was the President and CEO of Wesbild Holdings. He holds degrees from UBC in Law as well as Commerce, and is a Board member of Belkorp Industries and a member of The Fuller Group of Companies Advisory Council. In addition, he is the President of the Morningside Homeowners' Association and Chair of Big Sky Golf Club. His past board affiliations include Future Shop, the Coquitlam Builders' Trust, Collingwood School, the Urban Development Institute, and British Columbia Building Corporation. He is a past Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and for several years was an adjunct professor at UBC Law School.