Our Team

We are a dedicated and driven group of individuals who possess a profound affection for our city. Each member of the CreateTO team is motivated by their genuine love for Toronto, a firm belief in the significance of their work, and a sincere desire to contribute to the city's long-term prosperity and welfare.

Photo from groundbreaking event at 640 Lansdowne in Toronto

Executives

Building on the strengths of partnerships and working collaboratively with City stakeholders, external partners, and community members, our Executive Team upholds CreateTO’s mandate to develop innovative real estate solutions that are effective in their design and delivery.
  • Vic Gupta

    Vic Gupta

    Chief Executive Officer

    As CEO of CreateTO, Vic Gupta is focused on managing the City of Toronto’s real estate assets to unlock the potential of City-owned lands to be activated for the public good. This includes working with our City partners to offer strategic approaches that deliver program needs and support the advancement of Council’s public policy priorities, including building affordable housing within complete communities, creating cultural and employment opportunities, achieving our climate goals and driving economic prosperity.

    Vic has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He served as Principal Secretary to Mayor John Tory during the Mayor’s first term in office. Prior to his time at City Hall, he ran Prime Strategies Group, a public affairs consulting business that he founded in 1999. When the company was acquired in 2011, he ran for elected office, twice as a candidate for the Member of Provincial Parliament in the riding of Richmond Hill.

    He has a strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and was a founding member and the executive sponsor of CreateTO's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Vic has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario.

  • Jaspreet Hansra-Kulasingam

    Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Port Lands Management

    Jaspreet Hansra-Kulasingam is CreateTO’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Port Lands Management.

    She is a seasoned, multi-dimensional and versatile finance executive with over 20 years of real estate experience and extensive involvement in leading and advising organizations through complex transactions and growth. 

    In her role as Chief Financial Officer, Jaspreet provides strategic leadership over financial planning, financial advisory services, accounting and financial reporting, treasury, procurement, information technology and insurance and risk management. In her role as Executive Vice President, Port Lands Management, she provides strategic and operational leadership for over 400 acres of City land in Toronto’s Port Lands including lease management and negotiations, area-wide operations and property management services, capital planning and stakeholder management.

    Jaspreet has held several senior positions throughout her career, overseeing complex projects, while effectively managing cross functional teams to deliver financial and operational efficiencies. She is a passionate leader and is strong advocate of developing and mentoring individuals.

    Jaspreet is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Masters of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo.

     

  • Michael Norton

    Chief Development Officer

    Michael Norton is the Chief Development Officer at CreateTO where he is responsible for identifying and leading redevelopment opportunities for City-owned real estate, and providing real estate solutions to City divisions, agencies and corporations.

    Previously, Michael was Chief Development Officer at Metrolinx, where he oversaw the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Program for the GO Heavy Rail and LRT portfolios and managed the agency’s real estate portfolio and adjacent development reviews.

    Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in New York.

  • Mary Ormond

    Chief Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretary

    As the Chief Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretary at CreateTO, Mary Ormond oversees all legal and governance matters and provides strategic legal counsel to the agency and its staff pertaining to all aspects of CreateTO’s work, including development, real estate transactions and procurement.

    Mary is an accomplished lawyer and executive with an extensive track record of success in development, affordable housing, purchase and sale transactions, lease drafting, negotiation and administration and environmental management.

    Prior to joining CreateTO, Mary served as the Vice President, Real Estate Portfolio Management at Cara Operations Limited, where she was responsible for the management of an extensive real estate portfolio of owned and leased properties. Mary also served on the Planning Committee for the ICSC Canadian Shopping Centre Law Conference for several years, serving as Chair of the conference in 2017.

    Mary received a Masters degree in Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University in 2019 and was awarded the Ian Greene MPPAL book prize for placing first in the graduating class.

Staff

Board of Directors

Our Board represents a diverse group of public and private sector partners who provide experienced insight and support to carry out the vision for this new organization.
  • Ron Carinci

    Chair

    Ron Carinci is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Urbacon Data Centre Solutions Inc., a provider of data centre infrastructure to global cloud computing operators. Prior to being named CEO, Ron served as Chief Operating Officer of the Urbacon Group of Companies which constructs and develops major commercial, industrial, infrastructure and public sector projects. Ron was the former chair of the board of the Toronto Public Library, former board member of Ontario Lottery & Gaming and board member of the Jays Care Foundation which creates lasting social change for children and youth in marginalized communities across Canada. Ron has a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

  • Marcie Zajdeman

    Vice Chair

    Marcie Zajdeman has an LL.B. and J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993. She practiced in national and international law firms, before joining the energy industry in the late 1990s. At Ontario Hydro and then Hydro One, Marcie specialized in real estate and secondary land use, Indigenous law, and large project siting. In 2008, she moved to Brookfield, as VP, Legal and Regulatory, providing advice, strategy and direction for the utility platform’s sustainment and development. Marcie was also Brookfield’s representative on the APPrO and OEA boards. Marcie now works as an Energy Lawyer, Consultant, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School. She sits on the Advisory Board of Virelec Ltd. and is a 2017 Diversity 50 Cohort recipient.

  • Headshot photo of Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher

    Councillor Paula Fletcher

    Director

    First elected to Toronto City Council in 2003, Paula Fletcher now represents the newly created Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth. On city-wide issues, Councillor Fletcher has focused on creating a healthy city through her involvement in health, housing, recreation, environment, and community development issues. A widely recognized champion for Toronto’s highly successful film and digital media sector, she helped lead the campaign to defend employment lands in east Toronto’s studio district. She has also played a significant role in the revitalization of Toronto’s Port Lands with a focus on building a shared, accessible waterfront for all Torontonians.

    Councillor Fletcher has worked with the real estate development industry, Toronto Community Housing and with local community organizations to provide a range of housing solutions in Toronto-Danforth including Toronto Community Housing’s first revitalization at Don Mount Court (now Rivertowne), WoodGreen’s First Steps to Home on Queen East and the establishment of the Red Door Shelter as part of the Harhay Condo Development on Booth Avenue – a first in Canada.

    She also spearheaded the inclusion of Crow’s Theatre within Streetcar’s condo development, The Carlaw -another Toronto first.

    Councillor Fletcher looks forward to bringing her real estate and city-building experience to the Board of CreateTO as the City of Toronto looks to maximize the use of its real estate assets.

  • Councillor Brad Bradford

    Director

    First elected in 2018 as one of the youngest members of Council, Brad Bradford is the City Councillor for Ward 19, Beaches-East York. By bringing a pragmatic, non-partisan approach to local government, Brad supports community-led change throughout Beaches East-York.

    At City Hall, Brad serves as the Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, Vice Chair of Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC), and as a member of the Toronto Arts Board and CreateTO Board. With experience as an urban planner, he has a passion for addressing local issues, advocating for those typically left out of the process and making neighbourhoods more accessible. His priorities are to increase affordability and access to housing, make our streets safer, and revitalize Toronto’s main streets.

    Whether it’s through the regular community meetings or the bi-weekly newsletter, Brad wants to engage with all residents and work with local leaders to support the communities that make Beaches East-York special.

  • Marni Dicker

    Director

    Marni is currently Executive Vice President, Infrastructure and Chief Legal Officer for the Canadian Premier League. In this role, she spearheads the development of infrastructure that is critical to the continued growth of the Canadian soccer ecosystem. Previously, Marni was Executive Vice President & General Counsel at Live Work Learn Play Inc. She led LWLP’s corporate and organizational growth, major infrastructure projects and anchor deal making on large scale real estate projects across Ontario and North America. Formerly, Marni was Chief Commercial Officer and General Counsel at Infrastructure Ontario where she was responsible for leading the Legal Services, Procurement, Transaction Finance, Commercial Projects, Business Strategy & Communications, Records Management, Insurance, Policy and Freedom of Information teams. Amongst other accolades, she has received the following awards: • Urban Land Institute, Hall of Champions • Canadian General Counsel Award, Business Achievement. • Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Award. • Women’s Infrastructure Network as an Outstanding Leader. • The Premier’s Award of Excellence from the Province of Alberta for the Calgary Courthouse Public Private Partnership Structuring. Prior to IO, Marni was Senior Vice President, Business & Government Affairs and Corporate Counsel for SNC-Lavalin Inc. and prior that, she was a commercial litigation lawyer with two well-known Bay street law firms. Marni is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she devotes her time to the Ryerson Law Practice Program and Faculty of Law. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Tarion Corporation, Technical Standards and Safety Association and CreateTO.

  • Dennis Fotinos

    Director

    Dennis Fotinos is a performance-driven thought leader with notable turnaround management achievements and leadership success in engaging and developing talent to drive strategy and profitable growth. He initiated and led the corporate reorganization that created Enwave and then led the transformation of the company into an industry leader. Notably, he developed the Deep Lake Water Cooling system and established the commercial strategy that brought the company’s capabilities to market.

  • Headshot photo of board member Allison

    Allison Mendes

    Director

    Allison Mendes has over 18 years of Capital Markets experience. Most recently, she was Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager at Manulife Asset Management. She has served on multiple boards and has Chaired both the Audit and Governance committee. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and obtained her MBA from the Schulich School of Business, where she specialized in finance. She is a certified Corporate Director.

Corporate Board & Agency Meetings

As a result of the amended Shareholder Directions for Build Toronto and the Toronto Port Lands Company, the members of the CreateTO Board of Directors are also members of the Board of Directors of Build Toronto and the Toronto Port Lands Company by virtue of position effective January 1, 2018.

See governance news and board meeting materials

Our Strategic Plan
2023-2027

The City of Toronto’s real estate portfolio is immensely valuable, both in terms of its financial worth and its potential to serve as a resource for the public good. In 2018, CreateTO was established to leverage this value for our city, by applying a strategic, city-wide lens to Toronto’s real estate assets. To read about this work and more, see CreateTO’s first Strategic Plan.

Discover our strategic plan