Meet The Team
As National Head of CMLS Advisory, Pierre Bergevin is focused on the expansion and scope of services offered to our clients. Mr. Bergevin brings over 30 years of experience in real estate advisory across all aspects of the business both in domestic and international markets. After a decade of production at a global real estate brokerage, Mr. Bergevin moved into leadership and developed numerous business lines prior to serving as Canadian CEO.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2020, Mr. Bergevin held a key leadership position at a global real estate investment bank, focused on institutional coverage. Mr. Bergevin split his time between New York and Toronto while supporting the growth and development of other international markets. Pierre holds a BSc from The University of Western and Honours in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business. Pierre is a former member of the Board of the YMCA of Greater Toronto and is a former Board Member of REALPAC.
As Vice President, Angelo Lamanna is focused on real estate transactions,
infrastructure, renewable energy, debt and equity advisory, M&A and is involved with the
evaluation, negotiation, and structuring of acquisitions and investment opportunities including
specialty assets such as data center and data infrastructure. Mr. Lamanna brings over 25 years
of progressive experience in emerging markets.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2021, Mr. Lamanna held various key leadership positions, including
most recently at a leading global real estate investment bank, focused on real estate. Mr.
Lamanna attended Rotmans School of Management.
As Vice President, Stephen Doxey is responsible for the national origination and execution of our advisory
mandates across the spectrum of opportunities. Stephen brings 13 years of experience across real estate advisory
and investment, where he has focused on alternative assets and Seniors Housing, serving as both a principal and
an advisor.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2023, Mr. Doxey held a senior role with a Toronto-based real estate merchant bank.
Before that, he worked with a seniors housing investment platform, where he focused on investments, business
development, and asset management of a +$3B seniors housing portfolio. Early in his career, Stephen spent time
working with other Senior Partners within CMLS National Advisory at a global real estate investment bank.
Stephen holds a Masters of Financial Economics from the University of Toronto and Rotman School of Management.
As Vice President, Underwriting, Tony Sandhu is responsible for the
execution, underwriting, and due diligence of Investment Sales mandates. He has over 30 years
of experience in Commercial Real Estate.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2021, Tony worked for 18 years at a Global Asset Management Company in
their investment banking division. Over the years Tony completed the underwriting on the Bay
Adelaide Centre, Queens Quay, Deerfoot Meadows, Morgan Crossing, CN Central Station, and a
historical landmark in Toronto the Flatiron Building. He works in all asset classes - retail,
office, industrial and multi-family. Tony is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the province
of Ontario.
As Associate Vice President, Jonathan is involved in all aspects of
identification, evaluation, and execution of advisory services for the group. His primary focus
is on real estate transactions, debt and equity advisory, private placement, and fund raising
across all asset classes.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2022, Jonathan held various progressive positions in the capital
advisory arm of a major global real estate services firm where he was responsible for
structuring acquisition and investment opportunities, underwriting, due diligence, negotiation,
as well as providing debt and equity solutions to investor and developer groups. He is a
graduate of Queen’s University and The University of Glasgow.
As Associate Vice President, Jennifer is process-driven with a specific focus on the origination, evaluation, and management of real estate transactions and advisory services. She has over 25 years of commercial real estate experience.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2024, Jennifer was an award-winning broker at a major global real estate services firm. Since 1998, she has advised global, national, and local companies, government authorities, chartered banks, and credit unions, as well as institutional owners, management companies, developers, and REITs, on millions of square feet of transactions. Jennifer's background before her brokerage career was in real estate-centric contract and banking law. Her experience and process-driven approach will be instrumental in supporting our delivery of creative solutions to our National Advisory Clients.
As Associate Director, Elena Van is responsible for managing operations,
increasing efficiencies, and strategizing process improvements. Ms. Van is involved in idea
generation for our clients and front-to-end deal execution across all capital advisory
services. Elena brings over 8 years of relevant experience in commercial real estate and client
relationship management.
Prior to joining the National Advisory group in May 2021, Elena held several senior roles
within the Commercial Credit Risk Management division of CMLS Financial, where she oversaw the
underwriting of commercial mortgages across various programs and asset classes. Prior to
joining CMLS in 2017, Ms. Van held roles in commercial real estate research and valuation. With
a Finance major and Marketing minor, Elena holds a BComm from the Ted Rogers School of
Management.
As Senior Associate, Jason Tao is responsible for developing financial
models, providing complex data analysis, and supporting the evolution and growth of the
National Advisory as a whole. Mr. Tao brings over 10 years of real estate experience with a
focus in financial modeling and analysis in the hospitality industry for both domestic and
international markets.
Prior to joining CMLS in 2021, Mr. Tao was the Director of Finance at a full-service golf
resort. Mr. Tao has also served as a financial consultant and has worked for a global private
equity firm focused on hospitality and leisure development around the world. Mr. Tao holds a
BMath from the University of Waterloo and an Advanced Diploma with Honours in Business
Administration from George Brown College.
As an Senior Associate, Sebastian Gaina strives to create focused strategies and
unique asset advisory solutions that integrate the assets, capital structures, and evolving
market requirements in order to deliver results. Mr. Gaina leverages over 10 years of diverse
real estate and development experience with expertise in strategic planning and market
positioning, site selection, due diligence, market research, technical specifications, and
financial analysis. Sebastian's experience ranges across all industry sectors with a primary
focus on technology real restate, specifically data center, blockchain, emerging tech, and
alternative energy opportunities.
Prior to joining CMLS, Mr. Gaina worked in real estate development and project management
managing deals and projects totaling over two million square feet in a wide array of industries
- specifically institutional, healthcare, office, and industrial. Mr. Gaina attended Ryerson
University, is a licensed real estate agent, and holds PMP and LEED Green Associate
designations.
As an Associate, Michael is focused on strategies and unique asset advisory solutions that integrate capital structures, and evolving market requirements. He is involved in the evaluation, structuring, execution, and strategy generation for capital advisory services provided by the group. Michael brings over 3 years of relevant commercial real estate financing and client relationship management experience.
Prior to joining the National Advisory group in 2024, Michael held various positions within the Commercial Real Estate Financing and Business Banking Credit divisions at one of Canada's largest banks. In these roles, he was responsible for underwriting various asset classes across Canada and managing relationships with major developers. Michael is a graduate of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Marketing.
As Chair of the CMLS Advisory Committee, Brydon Cruise is focused on providing guidance and
participating in setting the strategic direction of the Advisory Committee. Mr. Cruise brings
over 30 years of global real estate experience concentrating on acquisitions, mergers, and
corporate finance in both North America and Europe.
Mr. Cruise was the President of a global real estate investment bank from 2005-2016. Prior to
that Brydon was a Managing Director at a global investment bank in the commercial
mortgage-backed securities business and developed a mortgage trading platform for the bank. His
experience also includes working on the principal side as a Managing Partner for two prominent
US-based real estate finance investment companies.
Brydon and his family are committed to philanthropic activities through the charity they’ve
built, Kindred Foundation. Kindred Foundation’s vision
is to boldly advance treatment and cures for childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers,
and fund high-impact programs for youth mental and physical health, providing reliable support
to community programs. Brydon was the Vice-Chair of the Board for YMCA Greater Toronto Area for
6 years, Chair of The Toronto Real Estate Ride for JDRF for 5 years and has been a Board Member
and Top Fundraiser for Coast to Coast - Tour for Kids for the past 9 years.