In the year since its inception, BakerWest has caught industry attention by attracting a number of the most sought-after and senior-level talent in the Vancouver market, including highly-reputable project sales and marketing leadership.
Despite its short tenure – having launched just one year ago, laying west-coast roots for Baker Real Estate Incorporated’s decades of success – BakerWest has excelled in this highly-competitive market for talent. Clearly, the new senior staff understand the long-term vision for success through staffing and the company’s commitment to developer-partner-client relationships, and they ultimately hold deep convictions for the future.
“With our fresh vision and approach and three notable senior hires, we are in a unique position to help our developer partners market some of the Vancouver region’s most anticipated real estate developments going forward. This is because of how thoughtfully we established – and have managed – business,” says Hari Minhas, President, BakerWest.
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Minhas himself brings forth over 20 years of industry knowledge and a wide range of experience, six of which he spent at Colliers. Minhas helped pioneer project marketing in Canada’s commercial real estate realm, he launched his own consulting company which, for three years, worked directly with developers to oversee their sales and marketing strategies and the execution of their developments, and he has international sales experience that includes stops in France, Switzerland, Manila, Hong Kong, Dubai, and all over California.
Minhas and Jacky Chan, CEO at BakerWest, set out a year ago as hungry to prove the business’s value to developers and staff alike.
“We are so pleased to announce three vital additions to our senior management team at BakerWest, who will be actively collaborating with our clients through all stages of the development life cycle,” says Minhas.
Bob Styan has been brought on as BakerWest’s new Senior Vice President of Sales, coming on board with close to 30 years of experience, which includes his most recent stop at S&P Real Estate Corp. He has worked on developments with major developers across North America, including Westbank and Intrawest as well as Bosa Developments and Properties, on branded Westin and Auberge Resorts, and master-planned communities like Snowmass Base Village in Colorado, Pacific Gate in San Diego, and many more.
Styan is an expert on west coast real estate; he was instrumental in building and training the sales teams of Vancouver House and Butterfly, and he’s currently heading sales at BakerWest for the tallest Passive House building in the world.
Rose Chan brings nearly a decade and half of experience to BakerWest, alongside a much-deserved reputation as a prodigy. Chan started her real estate career at Polygon Homes before being recruited to Magnum Projects by its principal. Of late, she is most recognized as one of the elite sales leadership and management resources at Concord Pacific -- one of Vancouver and Canada’s most proficient developers. In her tenure there, “she was responsible for managing Concord Pacific’s sales launches, and curating and building the Concord Platinum Elite Realtor Program,” says Jacky Chan.
In her years of experience, Rose Chan has launched more than 35 concrete high-rise developments, which amounts to more than 15,000 property transactions under her belt.
Joining Styan and Rose Chan at the senior table is Sarah Yada Seto, assuming the role of Vice President of Marketing. Yada Seto began her career 25 years ago, directly assisting Ian Gillespie and prolific Westbank Developments, whose successes include The Butterfly, Shangri-La, Fairmont Pacific Rim, and the $10+ Billion Oakridge Centre Development – widely considered to be one of the most prominent real estate developments in Canadian history. Yada Seto has been actively engaged on major developments in Seattle, Calgary, Toronto and more. These launches include Deloitte Summit in Vancouver, Telus Sky in Calgary, First Light in Seattle, and King Toronto. Seto was also an early staff member of Rennie Marketing Systems and worked alongside “The Condo King,” Bob Rennie, for 12 years. She also held management roles for Bosa Properties and BC Hydro, and she consults with a variety of organizations including Passive House Canada and the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.
In assembling an enviable bench of leaders with connections far and wide, BakerWest has signaled to real estate developers that it has the strategic and executional know-how and capacity to exceed competitive requirements.
Their intimate knowledge of west coast real estate fundamentals inform meticulously-crafted marketing strategies, while its roster’s collective decades of experience mean the brand has seen it all, and is ready to bring Canadian real estate to the global stage.
“One of the reasons we have invested heavily in this talent is our company’s aim to to grow and train tomorrow’s talent, today." Minhas says.
"And,” Jacky Chan adds, “that will be the BakerWest legacy.”
This article was produced in partnership with STOREYS Custom Studio.
