UDI Luncheon - Start Ups! Photocopiers, Bamboo Blinds, & Green Paint??

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Please contact Ginny Normandeau gnormandeau@udi.org for waitlist.

UDI is honored to present a special occasion... a luncheon featuring three esteemed gentlemen, all very well-known and respected in our industry:



Please join us to hear these Legends in conversation with your host and moderator, Bob Rennie of Rennie Marketing Systems. 



UDI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

Our AGM will start before the luncheon at 11:15am. This is a free event for all our members - please click here to register. 

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BIOS

JOE SEGAL - Kingswood Capital Corp.

Joseph Segal, born in Vegreville Alberta, spent 2 ½ years with the Calgary Highlanders & served overseas during the 2nd World War. After settling in Vancouver in 1946 he went into the war surplus business. He then founded Fields Stores Limited.  After taking Fields public in 1968 he added to the Fields store holdings by purchasing the 240 franchise retail stores of Marshall Wells wholesale hardware. In July 1976, Fields Stores acquired Zellers and Mr. Segal became Chairman. Over the next 3 years Zellers sales doubled without opening any new stores, and profitability increased substantially. In 1979 Zellers was purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company, and Mr. Segal became a major shareholder and joined the board of Hudson’s Bay.​

Joseph Segal is undoubtedly a self made man, and an entrepreneur who has never forgotten others. He maintains an open door to people from all walks of life. His family’s selfless generosity is well known throughout the community. In May, 2005 both he and his wife were honored by Variety Club with their highest honor, the International Humanitarian Award. Joseph Segal is still highly involved with and working full time at Kingswood Capital, as well as actively sitting on multiple boards of both charitable institutions & businesses.​

ROBERT LEE - Prospero Realty Inc.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Robert (Bob) Lee graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1956 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and since then has devoted a significant amount of his personal time to raise funds for the university and other community organizations. In the meantime, he has built a strong real estate presence on the west coast of Canada and the U.S., including extensive commercial real estate holdings in the Lower Mainland. In 1966 he co-founded Wall Financial Corporation (of which he still serves as director), and in 1979 branched out on his own to founded Prospero International Realty Inc. 

In 1988 Mr. Lee founded UBC Properties Trust to start development of market housing at UBC as a source of outside revenue to secure the university's future. As Founding Chair of the UBC Real Estate Corporation from inception, he was responsible for developing 500 acres of the university's endowment lands, which has generated over $1 billion on leased land for endowment. His goal for the trust is to generate $2 billion.

He has received the Order of Canada (1999) and the Order of British Columbia (1990), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1996 from UBC, and numerous awards over the years from a variety of organizations. Mr. Lee received the 2008 Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award from Ernst & Young, and in 2010 was inducted into the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame. The Robert Lee YMCA in Vancouver carries his name due to his generosity and strong belief in the organization. 

Mr. Lee and his wife Lily have four children. His entire family, including two daughters-in-law and his son-in-law, all graduated from UBC.

JOE HOUSSIAN - JH Investments Inc.

Joe Houssian was born in Manitoba, grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan and eventually moved to Vancouver in 1971 to get his MBA at UBC. He started his business career at Xerox in 1973 in sales before co-founding and becoming the CEO of Intrawest Corporation at age 27. Intrawest started in business as a small urban developer and migrated to the resort and hospitality business with the acquisition of Blackcomb in 1986. Intrawest grew to become a diverse entity, operating in numerous countries across a diverse range of products. Intrawest became publicly held and was sold in 2006 for US$ 2.8 billion.

In 2007 Joe created JHI which comprises a number of entities including Elemental Energy, a renewable energy development company and Replay Resorts, a resort development and operating company. Joe continues to be involved with Intracorp, an urban real estate development company operating on the West Coast of the USA and Canada and in Toronto. In 2011 Joe negotiated the acquisition of Taylor Morrison Housing Corporation and he attracted 2 private equity firms to partner on the transaction. Taylor Morrison builds and closes approximately 8,000 homes annually across the United States and is publicly listed on the NYSE. Joe is currently on the Board of Directors.

Throughout the years, Joe has served on several charity boards and has been actively involved in the community, including such organizations as Collingwood School, Street to Home Foundation, and the Canadian Olympic Committee. The Houssian Foundation has partnered with UNICEF with recent emphasis on the Syrian refugee crisis.  Last month, Joe and two of his children visited Jordan and Lebanon to better understand the situation firsthand.