Our Management Team
John Hayes
Managing Director
Direct: 416-603-4748
E-mail: jhayes@blackwoodpartners.com
John Hayes has over 20 years of experience encompassing all major areas of the commercial real estate business including property acquisitions, divestitures, development, financing, financial reporting, asset management, property management and leasing.
Mr. Hayes has extensive experience in the field of industrial development having directed development programs comprising land acquisition and the build out and leasing of several million square feet of prime industrial space. He has directed the acquisition of over 15 million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail properties across Canada and the United States, the underwriting and evaluation of over 70 million square feet of investment properties and, has directed the asset management for over 25 million square feet of commercial property.
Mr. Hayes is Managing Director where he co-directs activities which include real estate advisory, asset management, leasing, portfolio analysis, property acquisition and dispositions, corporate real estate consulting, transaction management and real estate due diligence services for a variety of clients in Canada, Europe and the United States. Prior to forming Blackwood Partners Inc., Mr. Hayes was Senior Vice President, Investment and Development of CIBC Development Corporation, Vice President, Real Estate, London Life Insurance Company and Asset Manager with Penreal Advisors Limited.
Mr. Hayes is a Chartered Accountant (1985) and holds an MBA from Queen’s University and a BSc. (Hons) from the University of Toronto.
Michael Cairns
Managing Director
Direct: 416-603-4002
E-mail: mcairns@blackwoodpartners.com
Michael Cairns has over 25 years of diverse experience in all areas of the commercial real estate industry including, leasing, development, acquisitions, financing, dispositions, asset management, property management, corporate real estate planning and analysis and real estate consulting.
Mr. Cairns has directed the completion of more than 40 million square feet of office, industrial and retail leases across Canada and the United States on behalf of both landlords and tenants. He has directed and built leasing teams to manage national portfolios in excess of 20 million square feet and has been involved in the acquisition of more than $2 billion and the disposition of more than $1 billion of commercial properties.
Mr. Cairns is Managing Director where he co-directs activities which include real estate advisory, asset management, leasing, portfolio analysis, property acquisition and dispositions, corporate real estate consulting, transaction management and real estate due diligence services for a variety of clients in Canada, Europe and the United States. Prior to forming Blackwood Partners Inc., Mr. Cairns was Senior Vice President, Leasing and Business Development with CIBC Development Corporation, Vice President, Leasing with Trizec Corporation and Director of Leasing with the Cadillac Fairview Corporation.
Mr. Cairns has a BA Economics (1980) from the University of Western Ontario.
Jonathan Button
Vice President, Asset Management & Operations
Direct: 416-603-4606
E-mail: jbutton@blackwoodpartners.com
Jonathan Button has over 17 years experience in all areas of the commercial real estate business, including real estate operations (from both asset management and property management perspectives), finance and reporting, asset sales and acquisitions, leasing, and development.
Mr. Button is Vice President, Asset Management and Operations where he oversees all aspects of asset management for the group’s assets under administration. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Patriot Equities Corporation, a shopping centre re-development company based in Toronto and owning assets in Ontario and western Canada. Prior to that, he had overall responsibility for the real estate investment portfolio at London Life, and held a variety of operational and financial positions at Bramalea Centres Limited, and First City Development Corp. Ltd.
Mr. Button is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Jim Kosmack
Transaction Management
Direct: 416-603-7730
E-mail: jkosmack@blackwoodpartners.com
Jim Kosmack is a real estate professional with over 25 years of real estate related experience. He has worked at an executive level for several major public real estate organizations in leasing and development, responsible for these functions on a national basis. Prior to real estate Mr. Kosmack worked in the construction and office products industries in sales and marketing.
Mr. Kosmack is currently Director, Transaction Management with Blackwood Partners responsible for negotiating all office leases across Canada and the United States for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a 6 million square foot user. Mr. Kosmack is also responsible for directing the leasing programs for the office properties that are asset managed by Blackwood. Mr. Kosmack has served on the Board for the Toronto Chapter of NAIOP.
Mr. Kosmack holds an Honours degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.