- Michael Ward promoted to Managing Director, Development with strategic oversight of Grosvenor’s Vancouver and Seattle development program and Capital Partnerships
- Marc Josephson, Senior Vice-President, Development takes operational and day to day leadership of the Vancouver Development program
- Neil Belcher, Vice-President, Construction, U.S., has been hired to oversee U.S. construction activity and Woody O’Neill, Vice-President, Construction, Canada has been hired to oversee Canada construction activity
- The newly created roles are part of a reorganized approach to construction management and an expanding development program focussed on net zero ambitions across North America
Grosvenor, a privately held property owner and developer with a 70-year track record in North America, announced leadership appointments that include the internal promotion of Michael Ward to Managing Director, Development and Marc Josephson, Senior Vice-President, Development, to Vancouver Development program lead and the hiring of Neil Belcher as Vice-President, Construction, U.S., and Woody O’Neill as Vice-President, Construction, Canada.
James Patillo, Chief Development Officer for Grosvenor’s North American Property business, notes: “These appointments support Grosvenor’s growth strategy, and reflect both our belief of promoting from within and our appeal to a talented external candidate pool. As we further integrate and advance our build-to-core development strategy, this new structure will support the delivery of our robust pipeline across our U.S. and Canadian markets.”
The Managing Director role was created in response to the significant growth of Grosvenor’s Vancouver development program and the Company’s desire to prioritize entry into the Seattle market.
Michael Ward, who marked 20 years with the Company this year, will focus on establishing a Seattle Development program, capital partner relationships, and strategic oversight of both the Vancouver and Seattle markets.
Marc Josephson, who takes over day to day leadership of the Vancouver Development program, has a strong track record of team management and strategic delivery. In particular, he lead the recent, complex and successful entitlement efforts for Grosvenor’s proposed 3.1M sf Brentwood Block development in Burnaby.
Two newly created construction roles are part of Grosvenor’s reorganized approach to managing future construction plans. The new regional leadership model and reporting structure will see construction team members report directly to their regional Vice-President.
Neil Belcher will oversee construction activity for Grosvenor across all U.S. markets and will be based in the company’s Washington, D.C. office. Woody O’Neil will be based in Grosvenor’s Vancouver office and focus solely on Vancouver market developments. Both will be responsible for administering construction work, schedules, project delivery, and other related construction initiatives for developments in their respective markets.
Belcher brings over 25 years of experience in the U.S. construction industry to this new role, with extensive experience in large scale multi-family, mixed-use, and commercial construction. He has led teams and delivered projects with established groups such as Brookfield, Forest City, and JBG.
O’Neill is a well respected construction professional in Vancouver, with two decades of in-house experience working for some of the region’s most prominent developers including Bosa and most recently, Anthem, where he spent the last 16 years.
Grosvenor has operated a diversified real estate business in North America since 1952. The Company is actively managing and improving a $2.8bn portfolio of 74 high-quality properties and is executing on a $3.9bn proprietary development pipeline across its active markets.
Consistent with the firm’s farsighted approach to ownership and development, Grosvenor values long-term partnerships; across their nine active investment partners, the average relationship is 20 years. The Company is guided by ESG principles and a promise to achieve carbon-neutral net zero operations by 2030.
Grosvenor has been an active property owner and developer in the US and Canada for 70 years. We focus on vibrant urban locations, making positive contributions to neighbourhoods and communities. As of December 31, 2021, we had assets under management of USD$3.5bn.
In North America, we signed the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in 2019 and have been publicly reporting our annual consumption and reduction values for 15 years. We are guided by industry leading ESG business principles and we report to the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).
Part of an international property company with a track record of over 340 years, we develop, manage, and invest to improve property and places across many of the world’s leading cities, promoting sustainability within the built environment and enhancing the wellbeing of our customers and communities.
We are a values-led organization which represents the Grosvenor family. Our work in property, alongside Grosvenor’s other activities in food & agtech, rural estate management and support for charitable initiatives, shares a common purpose – to deliver lasting commercial, social and environmental benefit – addressing today’s needs while taking responsibility for those of future generations. www.grosvenor.com
