Accelerate your Agility
Building in a Post-Pandemic World
Day 2: Re-Imagining the Construction Marketplace
Day 2: Panelists & Speakers
Bill Ferreira
Lindsay Kearns
Henry D’Esposito
David Coletto
Mark Milke
Bill Ferreira
Executive Director, BuildForce
Bill Ferreira has played a leading role in Canada’s construction industry for nearly a decade. Bill assumed the role of Executive Director at BuildForce Canada in August 2017, after serving as Vice-President, Government Relations and Public Affairs at the Canadian Construction Association since 2008. Bill has also served as a Senior Policy Advisor in a range of portfolios at the Federal Government, including Citizenship and Immigration, Environment Canada and International Trade. Following government, Bill joined a boutique government relations firm in Ottawa, focusing his expertise on the energy, transportation and telecommunications sectors. Bill also played a pivotal role as Director of Government Affairs at the Forest Products Association of Canada.
Bill was born in Toronto. He’s a graduate of Carlton University in Ottawa where he earned a degree in Political Science.
Lindsay Kearns
Coordinator, BC Centre For Women in the Trades
Lindsay Kearns is a coordinator with the BC Centre for Women in the Trades, where her work focuses on outreach and mentorship for the growing network of tradeswomen across the province. She is a Red Seal journey electrician and has a background in community organizing, urban geography, and food security issues. Prior to embarking on her electrical career, she worked at the University of Victoria as the knowledge mobilization coordinator for a five-year research project into the social economy. Lindsay grew up in Toronto and since 2001 has made her home in Victoria, where she and her spouse are now busy raising their two young children.
Henry D’Esposito
Construction Research Lead, Jones Lang LaSalle
Current Responsibilities
Henry D’Esposito leads construction research in the Americas for JLL, with focus areas on construction technology, construction costs, and broader macroeconomic trends impacting the construction industry. He advises clients of JLL’s Project and Development Services group to support the capital planning and project management of construction programs.
He is the author of multiple reports for JLL, including the annual Office Cost Fit Out Guide, the bi-annual US Construction Outlook series, and the State of Construction Technology report. He presents his research at industry events including the AIA Conference on Architecture and has been cited in major industry news outlets, including Engineering News-Record, Fast Company, Building Design & Construction, and Construction Dive.
Education and Affiliations
Henry has a Bachelor of Science in Management from Tulane University. Henry is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
David Coletto
CEO Abacus Data
Over David’s career, he has accumulated a range of experience across geographies, asset types and roles. This includes working and living in many of the country’s major markets and holding senior positions at international general contractors, developers and consulting firms. In 2009, David founded a successful consulting firm that operated across Western Canada until it was acquired by Altus Group in 2017.
Clients rely on David to not only better understand a project’s costs and risks, but also view them in context of the local, regional and national markets. He is often uniquely positioned to view a project from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and bridge the gap in understanding between viewpoints, contributing to the project’s success.
David leads Altus Group’s Cost & Project Management business unit’s Business Intelligence group. He is responsible for leveraging systems and technology, to collect structured data, drive efficiency and extend the business unit’s products and services. These initiatives require collaboration across offices and business units globally.
Mark Milke
Executive Director, Research - Canadian Energy Centre
Mark Milke, Ph.D., is a public policy analyst, keynote speaker, author, and columnist with six books and dozens of studies published across Canada and internationally in the last two decades. His newest book, The Victim Cult: How the culture of blame hurts everyone and wrecks civilization, is an Amazon bestseller. Mark’s work has been published by think tanks in Canada and internationally, including the Fraser Institute, the Montreal Economic Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Brussels-based Centre for European Studies. A regular columnist, his commentaries have appeared in the Globe and Mail, National Post, and Maclean’s. He is currently the Executive Director-Research for the Canadian Energy Centre. Mark is also president of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary. Born and raised in Kelowna, British Columbia, Mark lives in Calgary and is an active hiker, skier, and runner with an interest in architecture, photography, cities, and history.