Board of Directors
President and CEO Mr. Bob Dhillon
Mr. Bob Dhillon graduated with an MBA in October of 1998 from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He is the President and CEO who has over 20 years of experience in the industry acquiring and divesting all types of properties. Mr. Dhillon has acquired, redeveloped and divested every type of real estate for over 20 years as a private individual and has participated in many real estate transactions specializing in adding value to properties. Mr. Dhillon began his career in the residential sector and has gained his industry experience in the most appropriate environment of all as an owner. Mr. Dhillon has been active selling and buying all classes of real estate in each part of the cycle.
Every transaction in his career has been financed with his own equity and personal guarantees. The acquisition and operating philosophy behind each real estate purchase has been the creation and eventual capture of the value added to each property. An unwavering dedication to this philosophy allowed for his portfolio to be constantly in tune with the market condition and allowed for profitable real estate ownership during each part of the cycle. Mr. Dhillon has owned and managed on a collective basis over 5,000 multi-family units since creating Mainstreet.
Mr. Larry Tapp
An International Chief Executive Officer, innovative educator and sportsman.
Larry G. Tapp was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario on October 6, 1937.
He received his education at McMaster University and the University of Kansas.
From 1995 to 2003 Mr. Tapp held the position of Dean, the Richard Ivey School of
Business, at the University of Western Ontario in London. He retired as Professor
Emeritus in July 2003.
Larry Tapp led, in both Europe and North America, one of the worlds premier
packaging organizations. He is recognized as an innovative leader skilled in initiating
change, improving performance and restructuring through strategic cost reduction and
operational streamlining.
He transformed Canadas leading business school from a mid-level regional school into
an internationally recognized institution consistently ranked as one of the best in the
world. Under his leadership, the Richard Ivey School of Business expanded into Asia
with the founding of a Hong Kong campus. The first degrees from Hong Kong were
granted in 2001. Recognizing the need for an increased role for business in the formation
of public policy, Tapp founded the Ivey Public Policy Institute to promote the active
involvement of Canadas business elite in the formation of policies that will lead to a
stronger Canada in the 21
st
century.
A firm believer in leading by example, Larry Tapp sits as a chair and/or director of
several Canadian companies. He continues to teach on Corporate Governance at Ivey.
Mr. Tapp is currently Chair and Director on the boards of CCL Industries, Softchoice Corporation and Comcare Health Services. He also
serves as director on the boards of Talisman Energy and Mainstreet Equities.
An avid outdoorsman and sportsman, Larry Tapp has been active in sports as both a
participant and patron. He joined his son Jay as a member of the Canadian Aquatic Hall
of Fame, having been elected in recognition of his work in support of aquatic sports in
Canada.
Mr. Joe Amantea
Mr. Joe Amantea is a partner with the law firm Warren Tettensor based in Calgary, Alberta. Mr. Amantea concentrates his legal practice on matters related to real estate, construction law, foreclosures and corporate/commercial law dealing mainly with small and medium-sized private companies. Mr. Amantea acts as corporate counsel on real estate related matters on behalf on Mainstreet Equity Corp.
Mr. Rich Grimaldi
Mr. Rich Grimaldi, formerly the Managing Director of Institutional Accounts for GE Capital - Commercial Real Estate, joined the Board of Directors. Mr. Grimaldi is a seasoned real estate executive with over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry.
Mr. Grimaldi, who holds an MBA from the University of Miami, brings with him years of experience and knowledge of the Real Estate Industry. He has held various positions in the Commercial Real Estate Division at GE Capital such as Managing Director of Institutional Accounts, Managing Director - Canadian Real Estate, and Managing Director - Large Transaction Group. He has extensive experience in financing public and private companies, structuring debt, equity and joint-venture new business opportunities.
As the Managing Director of GE Real Estate National Accounts from 2001-2004 (in New York), he was responsible for all debt investments in North America covering a customer base that consisted of Opportunity Funds, REITs and Public Companies. National Accounts consisted of a $4 Billion portfolio and closed approximately $3 Billion of new business during that term.
Previously, Rich was Managing Director of GE Capital Commercial Real Estate Financing and Services (CREFS) operations in Canada from 1997 - 2000. The Canadian Division of CREFS consisted of ownership interests in 189 properties and a combined base of loans and owned properties exceeding $2 Billion.
Prior to his appointment in Canada, Rich was based in Stanford, CT, as the Managing Director of CREFS Large Transaction Group (LTG). In his capacity as Managing Director, he spent four years valuing, acquiring and lending on more than 100 transactions world-wide totaling in excess of US $28 Billion.
Rich was initially recruited by GE Capital for their Financial Management Program (FMP) in 1980. From 1983 to 1988, he specialized in structuring joint venture transactions with GE Real Estate. In 1988 he joined CREFS where he focused on traditional core lending and portfolio acquisitions until his appointment as Managing Director of the LTG in 1993.
Director
Mr. John Irwin
John Irwin serves as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Vice-President of the Ivey Companies for the Richard Ivey School of Business. He is primarily responsible for Ivey’s financial organization, information technology, conference centres, main campus facilities, and global asset mangement in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.
Irwin joined Ivey in 1987 as CFO and in 1997, expanded his role to Director of Facilities and Vice-President of the Ivey Companies. In 2004, John also took on the role as Ivey’s CIO where he manages Ivey’s IT infrastructure.
Irwin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario as well as his Certified General Accountants of Ontario Designation. Prior to joining Ivey, he held a senior position with Perlmutter Shore & Co. of London in the area of receiverships and taxation.
Irwin has been a key player in Ivey’s strategic initiatives. He is responsible for the financial re-organization and privatization of business operations, expansion of the school’s operations in Asia, physical expansion and financing of Ivey’s Leadership Centres in London, Toronto, and Hong Kong, as well as academic program reorganization (such as the one-year MBA program).
As CFO, Irwin sits on the boards of Mainstreet Equity Corp.(MEQ/TSX), Ivey Management Services, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, Richard Ivey School of Business (Asia) Limited, and RISB Ltd (Beijing). He also serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee for Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ/TSX).
Irwin lives in London, Ontario, with his wife Ren; they are the proud parents of two children.
Director
Mr. K.V. Dhillon
Mr. Dhillon is CEO & Managing Director of Guggenheim Capital Management (Asia). Guggenheim Capital is a leading investment management firm with over $100 billion under management. Mr. Dhillon has over 16 years of experience in the financial services area, previously a partner at Thomas Weisel Partners. He established Thomas Weisel's private equity practice in Asia. Mr. Dhillon received his Bachelors degree from the University of Calgary and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
