Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

What if navigating a $27 billion portfolio could teach you how to thrive through market cycles? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Salvatore Iacono, President and CEO at Cadillac Fairview, for an in-depth conversation on managing and evolving a $27 billion real estate portfolio through volatile market cycles. Salvatore shares why retail and office are showing renewed strength, how experiential design and tenant collaboration are driving the return to office, and why the long-predicted death of retail never materialised. 

The discussion explores Cadillac Fairview’s approach to repositioning legacy department store space, developing multifamily assets on underutilised land, and maintaining balance across retail, office, residential, and industrial sectors. Drawing on lessons from the pandemic, Salvatore emphasises long-term thinking, partnership-led decision-making, and patience in portfolio rebalancing. This episode offers practical insight into large-scale asset management, Canadian market dynamics, and building resilience for sustained returns.

What you will learn:

• How to navigate the office sector’s comeback
• Why retail’s “death” narrative was premature
• The partnership-over-litigation approach to crisis management
• How to reposition department store boxes into mixed-use value
• The “virtuous circle” development mode
• Why portfolio rebalancing takes years, not quarters

Salvatore Iacono is President and CEO of Cadillac Fairview, where he leads the operations and strategy of one of North America’s largest owners, operators, investors, and developers of office, retail, multifamily, industrial, and mixed-use real estate. With more than $30 billion in assets under management, Cadillac Fairview oversees 68 landmark properties across Canada. Salvatore’s deep real estate expertise supports long-term portfolio growth for Cadillac Fairview and its owner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, while advancing the company’s purpose of transforming communities for a vibrant, sustainable future.

The post Repositioning Through Cycles: Portfolio Strategy at Scale with Salvatore Iacono, President and CEO at Cadillac Fairview appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.